Projectionists (Live review)

The Ruby Lounge 25.07.10
(supporting I Blame Coco/Findlay)

Getting to the Ruby Lounge in Manchester on a rainy Sunday night wasn’t boding well for a good turnout for the three acts on this bill. In the end, the punters weren’t scared off, and the first band up Projectionists had a great turnout.

Started by singer Becki Stevens (The Pipettes) and drummer Pete Marshall (Liam Frost / Bonebox) who joined forces with Chris Madden (keys), Sam Morris (bass) and Paul Mortlock (guitar), the band are quite a proficient bunch of musicians.

Opening with Falling Into You didn’t seem their strongest choice, despite Steven’s vocal giving a hint of a less punk Debbie Harry at points. Second song up Lonely was a great piece though. Like a 60s pop song but with squealing indie guitars instead of Sonics-esque strumming and a Go-Go breakdown too, just the kind of thing you can’t get out of your head.

Onto a ballad (But, I Love You) then some ambitious vocal melodies in Lover’s Game which came off nicely accompanied by twee piano parts, still nothing made the songs sound too weak even if they were a little nervously played. Someday was beautifully modern shoop-shoop song, with spine-tingling “oooohs” reminding me of something dreamy by Phil Spectre, it definitely seems to be the stronger sound for the band.

Finishing off with Let’s Take It and then Never Wanted, which started with keys samples that sound like a kids’ toy and ended in a crescendo of violins, the newbies had done a great job for their first venture out in public. Some songs were definitely stronger than others, but who’s perfect.

Having such a musical pedigree, they showed off good melodies and hooky songs, with the recognisable and strong drumming style from Marshall, and piano/organ/violin samples from Madden adding a superior edge to songs. Projectionists are definitely a more interesting development on last year’s pretty-girl fronted pop outfits.

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