Even without jetpacks, this youthful Glasgow band soared at the Hi-Dive on Saturday. Photo by Neil Thomas Douglas.
The post-post-punk/melodic emo genre thatap popular with younger audiences has a new champion in Glasgow’s . In their short, year-long span of international release they’ve already built up an impressive following, and played a sold out show last Saturday at the . In front of a rabid crowd, the likes of which I last saw following UK acts like U2 or the Alarm in the mid-‘80s, Jetpacks’ passionate and anthemic compositions, along with a highly adrenalized and aerobic delivery, proved that the mix is genuine.
The four piece seemed to be quite comfortable with their level of fame, born from victory in an Edinburgh, Scotland “Battle of the Bands” they competed in while in high school. Frontman Adam Thompson — whose fresh, bright-red cheeks bookended a face that wavered between youthful consternation and aged wisdom during the nightap set — appeared young enough to have left his late teens just days before.
He jogged, bounced and kicked in place as he played rhythm guitar and belted out lyrics full of adolescent angst enmeshed in romantic idealism, complete with a refreshingly unabashed Glaswegian accent. In testament to the band’s fervent fan base — even thousands of miles from home — Thompson didn’t bother to sing during much of the tunes’ chants and choruses, instead allowing the audience to take these parts over. And they did. Almost everyone in the Hi-Dive was singing or hollering the lyrics with perfect cadence each time Thompson stepped back from the mic.
The rest of the band — Michael Palmer on guitar, Sean Smith on bass and Darren Lackie on drums — appeared as young and energized as Thompson as they blasted through almost an hour of their loud and catchy power pop. While Thompson’s vocals vacillated between Coldplay’s Chris Martin and John Penny of Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, the rest of the band channeled a mix of Archers of Loaf’s super-fuzzed and catchy chord progressions and Interpol’s choppy version of Joy Division. “Keep Warm” started the set list with a prolonged intro that built up cathartically to quickly take over the audience. By the time the set ended, the band looked only slightly more exhausted and flush than the audience.
In between they played most of their debut LP, “These Four Walls,” including “Itap Thunder and Itap Lightning” (currently receiving some US college airplay), “Ships With Holes Will Sink,” “Roll Up Your Sleeves” (probably the tune most reminiscent of Coldplay), “This Is My House, This Is My Home” and some tunes from their recent EP, “The Last Place You’ll Look.”
Despite what these boys were ever promised, or if that promise ever was or will be fulfilled, they delivered an ecstatic set to a pumped audience last Saturday night. And, with their exuberance and youthful stage presence, they’re poised to rest atop the melodic emo and post-punk heap for some time to come.
Follow Reverb on Twitter! !
Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver’s vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy’s explorations at , and his giglist at .
