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Live Review: The Orielles at Manchester Deaf Institute – 26th April 2014

It always amazes me when I’m in a venue in a major city in the UK and how many local people turn up for a gig, even if they may not know the band who’s playing that night. Even though when I arrived early in the evening at the Manchester Deaf Institute there were only a few people about, by headline set time, the place was nicely packed for the main attraction, the Orielles. We’ve written about the band a fair bit on TGTF now, them having wowed our Martin at Sound City 2013 last year. This, however, was my first chance to see them up close and personal.

The Halifax band were celebrating the release of their upcoming single ‘Entity’, which I fell in love with upon first listen. If you recall, they used to be called The Oreoh!s and in my interview with them backstage earlier in the evening, I asked them about this changeover. What became almost immediately apparent to me watching them Saturday night is that even though they released their debut EP ‘Sunny Daze and Sleepless Nights’ just last year, they’ve already moved on quickly to another place in terms of sound. (This probably explains why none of the songs from ‘Sunny Daze and Sleepless Nights’ weren’t played?) Not only that, but they sound incredible live.

The songs from the trio’s ‘Hindering Waves’ EP, which was released in February on the band’s own Cacti Recordings, all appeared on the Manchester set list. Henry Wade’s guitar playing shone brightly on EP tracks ‘Old Stuff / New Stuff’ and ‘Karma Trip’; as I play (bass) guitar myself, there’s really nothing better than watching a fellow guitarist wail on his instrument, hair flying all over the place, having the time of his life.

While the video for ‘Entity’ was filmed in Blackpool, you get a much better taste of the seaside watching the band perform live. The surf pop sound that was only gently evident on their debut EP comes through much louder and clearer now, with the band indulging themselves in the live setting with what can only be best described as thoroughly enjoyable, noodley, extended jammy intros and outros, all framed by drummer Sid Hand-Halford’s punchy, driving rhythms. The band were all business Saturday night, with minimal banter between songs by singer and bassist Esme Hand-Halford, whose vocals throughout the night were suitably dreamy to suit the mood. EP cut ‘Sugar Tastes Like Salt’ closed out the night, displaying the band’s bass heavier, funkier side.

When I was interviewing the band backstage earlier in the evening, they asked me not to ask how old each of them were, and I respected their wishes. While they may be young, truth be told (no pun intended), actually knowing how old they are actually would potentially give you the false impression that they’re not good at their craft. Which would be a major mistake. The two most important things about bands that some people seem to forget are talent and how well the members of the band gel as a unit. Having been a band for a while now and having that almost bordering on telepathic understanding and tightness that allows them to write songs quickly (they’ve told me some of them have come about in as short of a time span as 30 minutes), it’s become eminently clear just how talented the Orielles are. Where will they go from here? Nowhere but up.