Photo credit: Neelam Khan Vela
THE ORIELLES arrive in Glasgow just a week after releasing one of the most intelligent and deftly original albums you’ll hear all year. Packed with sugary melodies and a deliciously vibrant energy, Silver Dollar Moment is a jangling journey through diverse musical styles and varied influences; an album that surprises you with each twist, turn and shift in sound. Warmly familiar and dreamily nostalgic yet fresh, playful and utterly vital, it is nothing short of an absolute triumph.
No surprise then that in the midst of riding a wave of critical acclaim, Glasgow’s Mono is packed full of punters eager to see the band of the moment; a very different experience compared to their last visit to the city according to lead guitarist Henry Carlyle Wade. In around 45 minutes, they deliver a completely captivating set that, much like the album, effortlessly flows through bursts of sunshine pop, dazzling disco-rock, sixties psych wig-outs and other laid-back woozy diversions.
With just about all of Silver Dollar Moment on show, ‘I Only Bought It For The Bottle’ predictably gets a big reaction early on with its deliriously infectious sing-along chorus, elastic rhythms and cowbell breakdown. In keeping with the band’s quirky charm, there are empty glass bottles on sale tonight on the merch stalls at the back for those especially keen to live out the metaphor of the track. Much to the disappointment of an excitable group at the front, ‘Liminal Spaces’ then brings the tempo down with its lolloping basslines; drenched in melancholy and a dream-like beauty.
The ever changing shifts and turns on Silver Dollar Moment keep you hooked from start to finish; and the trio play this complexity out masterfully on stage. Boasting a hypnotic energy, sisters Esme and Sid are solid on bass and drums; it’s impossible not to bop along to their dynamic combination of racing beats and juicy basslines. And even though you can’t always entirely make out what she is singing, Esme’s saccharine vocals tie in brilliantly with the swirl of scuzzy guitars, twinkling harmonies and earworm melodies around her.
Their affable charm and youthful zest shines even brighter in person. The cool calm aura of the sisters is juxtaposed by guitarist Henry’s bright charisma as he does all of the interacting with the attentive audience in between songs. It’s his virtuosic guitar skills and reverb-strewn riffs that are most impressive however as he revels in tone and texture throughout.
The ever-brilliant ‘Let Your Dogtooth Grow’ is given a rousing reception as it heads off into space with a psych breakdown in its closing stages while album highlight ‘Sunflower Seeds’ is joyous and idiosyncratic as they navigate their way through shambling indie and psychedelia. There’s no better way to end the night than with the epic ‘Sugar Tastes Like Salt’ though; undoubtedly their most ambitious and wildly creative offerings to date. Underpinned by Esme’s bass, it manically speeds up, slows down and then settles into a groove before mutating into something heavier and more sinister. In a raucous finale, Henry is unleashed on guitar as he drops the riff to shred. If anything, it’s worth it to see The Orielles just to experience this track alone. They are the band of the moment right now and it’s easy to see why.
