Swiss Lips. “Accidentally” named after slang for the female front potato, the Manchester electro/guitar band have successfully managed to get people dancing up and down the country.
After “U Got The Power” got attention all over the nation, and follow-up “DANZ” showing off the bands home city through the shapes thrown by an old dude with long hair, things are definitely moving in the right direction.
They’re radio friendly, able to get on the mainstream stations while still being the cool side of pop music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js6ZMNR9HG8&list=UUh3TToCs7rVG2LAmLpJSImg
We caught them midweek in Manchester, their first headline show to home fans and it was clear that friends and family had made the effort to come along. Night & Day is a great venue in the bohemian Northern Quarter, and the neon sign at the back of the stage with the bands logo fitted the decor perfectly.
They were supported by The Good Natured, who really caught us by surprise with the quality of their sound and performance. A crowd had already made their way down to the front, obviously in the mood for dancing and they were not dissappointed, especially with new single “5-HT”.
Then it was the turn of our headliners. Lead singer Sam Hammond, in trademark cap and necklace, walked to the front of the stage and the performance began with the aforementioned “DANZ”.
With an album on the way, we were treated to some new tracks as well. By far the best one is “Books”, the chorus of which is the strongest of any Swiss Lips song to date.
As we all know, never point out that something is going well, because it’s pretty much going to go to shit after that.
“Last night we played in Glasgow and all our equipment blew up. Touch wood, it’s going fine today.”
Oops.
Clearly not enough people touched wood as soon after some equipment stopped working which meant that the set had to be cut short, and there was no encore.
Overall, despite the technical difficulties, it was a great gig. The crowd were into them and they looked to be enjoying themselves. The music is what it is, somewhere in the middle of dance music and guitar music, nothing out of the box but with enough style to push it forward. The real test will be what the finished album sounds like, and how audiences and critics react.
words by Daniel Savage (@nosauceplease)
