It’s been quite some time since Anchor Lane a reworking of “Sycophant Disorder” with Lo Rays.
And speaking of Lo Rays, they’ve got the honour of opening up the show on this Saturday night to a rapidly filling Tut’s, the downstairs bar rapidly filling by the time doors are due to open. There’s going to be a couple of spoilers and getting straight to the point in this review and here’s the first – they’re the best act Anchor Lane have ever had. As pop, rock and alternative soundscapes mesh effortlessly (or as they call it “post-apocalyptic pop”) with some expert and filthy guitar work from Scott Bathgate, the quartet make the most of their short time on stage and fit as many numbers as humanly possible into a half-hour set. Having been on the go since 2018, it shows in their stagecraft that this isn’t a new band that’s just cropped up out of nowhere in the last 18 months.
Whilst there’s electronic elements to their music, vocalist Laura Takala channels a punkier version of Lzzy Hale, trading Hale’s infamous screams for harsh growls to ensure there’s a good helping of heaviness. When Murray Bartle’s beefy drums kick in on the drops, you can’t help but nod along. It’s not music that will cause a bangover but it will ensure you’re moving with it. It’s not the usual kind of thing I’d find myself listening to but you can’t fault the quality of the music or the performance. And if I still lived in Glasgow, I’d be out to see them at every opportunity.
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Just like when the headliners play to a headline act and it forces their hand to up their game, that’s what Lo Rays have done to Anchor Lane tonight. But there’s also the headline shows a few weeks prior to this (and what I’m told was a smashing set at Festival on the Hills) which prepared them for tonight with a chance to recover and smash out some extra rehearsals. It means when Anchor Lane take to the stage to the sounds of “The Static”, they hit the ground running with the gritty and intense “Choke” which has plenty of opportunity for early crowd participation.
The room is suitably packed by this point so it’s not surprising they seize the moment for what it is and deliver a performance which is truly next level. So as the second spoiler of this review – it’s their best show ever. They’re considerate of the strange layout of the room and during “Electric Karma”, vocalist/guitarist Conor Gaffney decides to perform at the back of the room for the people who can’t see. Not only does it allow guitarist Lawrence O’Brien to prowl the entirety of the stage but it allows the band to connect with the entire crowd for a brief moment as Conor gets in the faces of another portion of the crowd, rather than just those of us at the barrier.
For a band that have always been about modernity, even when they were more aligned with the classic rock scene up until a few years ago, they still manage to endear themselves to the older generation who are in the room. Certainly, Call This a Reality? makes up the bulk of their set to accommodate this but it’s also down to the fact that it’s still the tremendous album it was upon its release, and they’ve got a hell of a task on their hands to follow it up. But if anyone can, it’s these boys. With alternative sounds flying thick and fast plus the chance to get a bit grungy on the album’s title track, there’s the fun bounciness of “The Mischievous Song” and the brooding “Ministry”. However, there’s still reverence given to Casino in three tracks in quick succession. Whilst faithful to their source material, there’s still subtle reworkings under the hood to bring them more in line with Anchor Lane 2024 rather than 2020.
Needless to say, the band are performing better than ever as a unit. Their chemistry allows them to flow effortlessly from song to song and it’s hard to watch any of the trio for any length of time before you want to see what the other two are doing. Drummer Graeme Newbury has a slick groove to his playing, the kind you see in the best of the best, never resorting to anything flashy or over-the-top for the sake of it. Instead, he serves the songs to ensure they’re all as faithful to their recorded counterparts and played with the kind of dynamism that you’d expect him to be up front and centre with his band mates.
The fervour isn’t just limited to Graeme as both Lawrence and Conor bring the energy with Lawrence showing his excellence on the six strings from the first note. While he puts everything into his performance and shows off a whole load of skill that other guitarists should envy, he does so in a way that makes it look as easy as speaking the most basic of sentences. Certainly, if you were to choose the best guitarist of his generation, you’d be looking at Oli Brown and Sam Wood as the only people who come close to him. And I reckon Lawrence could teach both of them a thing or two. Conor the consummate frontman, delivering powerful and rich vocals and is a constant bundle of energy, constantly working the crowd. He makes the most of his time not strapped to a guitar by engaging with both the band and the crowd and is able to trade licks with Lawrence with ease, adding depth and texture when one guitar just simply isn’t enough sonic excellence.
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There’s not an encore to speak of (mainly because they can get in the bin) but after a quick round of “Here we, here we, here we fucking go” (which can get in the same bin as encores), half of Lo Rays are invited back onto the stage with Bathgate adding in extra guitars and Takala on vocals to spar with Conor for their collaboration on “Sycophant Disorder”. Faithfully recreating it, the new lyrics hit hard and allow Takala and Bathgate to show those who were late what they missed. Having debuted the song a couple of years ago at another Glasgow headliner, it’s fully embedded into the show, complete with that moment to jump (think Slipknot’s “Spit it Out”). And it wouldn’t be an Anchor Lane show without ending on “I Don’t Have Another Soul to Pour”. Bringing the heat one final time and leaving the best until last, they pour (pun not intended) every last bit of themselves into this and the crowd respond in kind as sweat flies in all directions, heads bang, hands claps and bodies bounce.
We’re long past the days of Anchor Lane playing in Glasgow every month so when they do come out for a hometown show, it’s always something special and tonight is no different. This isn’t just Anchor Lane answering the call, this is a victory lap of everything they’ve achieved in the last couple of years. Add in a great like Lo Rays, who put themselves on many people’s radar with their performance, and you have a contender for gig of the year.
Header image by Lucy Cheyne
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