Luke’s Alphabet Tour – R: Race Horses at London Lexington – 25th September 2012
Sometimes it takes a Tuesday night out to prove that not everything in the world is bad. The weather might be continually awful, the economy is still in decline and the X Factor still exists, but outside, in the upstairs function rooms across Britain, smiley poptastic fun can still be had. Travelling all the way from Cardiff, the Welsh quintet Race Horses have ridden into London town to launch the brand spanking new LP ‘Furniture’.
The sold out crowd arrive early to load up on drink and take in the atmosphere before everyone’s favourite equine-related indie-poppers play their new album, plus a few extra treats. Wasting no time with pleasantries, Race Horses gallop through the opening tracks of ‘Furniture’, rousing an already hyped audience. Free single ‘Mates’ opens the voice strings of certain crowd members who have played it to death on their laptops, but it’s the mid-section that proves most interesting.
‘Nobody’s Son’ and ‘Old and New’ smack of Dexys with its inherent 80s vibe, and frontman Meilyr Jones vocals are staggering similar to Everything Everything‘s Jonathan Higgs. It’s during ‘Nobody’s Son’ that Jones looks his most vulnerable as he screams, “I’m just a hotel, I’m just a place you stay”, while attacking a bass drum. But throughout the performance he commands the stage with his jittery dance moves (that begin to resemble starting a fight with the invisible man), while his counterparts constantly switch instruments, keeping the sound fresh and visually exciting – there’s even a bassoon and a harp, what more do you need?
The obligatory encore is met with open arms and ears as the rabble of on stage prove their worth with yet more danceable, catchy tunes to the elation of the packed venue. ‘Cysur a Cyffro’ and ‘Hanes Cymru’ ring out joyfully in the dimly lit, booze-soaked room, as London laps up every sugar-coated morsel of fun-loving indie-pop and washes it down with a double helping of Cardiff happiness. Just what the doctor ordered on a Tuesday.
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