Review: She Drew The Gun take Brum crowd on a journey of dark pop
- The Sunflower Lounge played host to She Drew The Gun on Saturday April 30th – the final date of their tour
- Brother & Wolf opened the night and received a positive response from fans old and new
- Heartbreak hit the crowds as The Ghetto Theatre poured out lyrics of loss in a unique set
- The audience were prepared for She Drew the Fun by Chartreuse with their synth-filled and soulful tunes
Kicking off the night was Brother & Wolf with a barrage of guitar and husky vocals that filled the room, setting the tone for the rest of the night. Creative riffs and a clear sense of unity between the members the band were greeted with a response of appreciative head nods and a bunch of new fans.
Up next was The Ghetto Theatre who dominated the stage with his threatening yet heart breaking lyrics, trading choruses and hooks for a pure stream (or maybe scream?) of consciousness as he whaled his way through track after track, breaking your heart line after line. If Virginia Woolf was male, a singer and was home to a few tattoo The Ghetto Theatre would be your guy. With no regard for the song writing norms he ripped up songs then pieced the bits back together in a mash of unusual tracks that featured an array of squeals which through time actually began to grow on you and sounded somewhat beautiful. Saying nothing between songs he just allowed the echoing, deep sound to do the talking, as each audience member was surrounded by a smog of pure feelings with a Benjamin Clementine feel to it, well, if Benjamin was more of an angry guy.
After hearing an acoustic set by Chartreuse the night before, I was ready for great things, and as the chilled out melody and twanging guitar seeped in I knew no one was going to be disappointed. Synthy delicate soul that runs down your spine and reaches the end of every single finger engulfed the room until there wasn’t a placid audience member or an un-tapping toe in the house. Insane guitar skill and interesting lyrics, the tracks were unpredictable as many would keep building and building up a wall of sound then dive you straight into a chilled riff, heating you up then cooling you straight back down again. The main male singer’s sonorous voice in contrast with the hauntingly beautiful voice of the lead female singer was a combination that cannot be described as anything else but beautiful. Laid-back funky indie the local four piece proved yet again that they’re set for great things and set the standard high for the headliners.
With enough girl power to make Avril Lavigne give up her day job, the velvet yet raw voice of She Drew the Gun slid through the guitar dominated tracks with an almost mournful edge beginning what was to be an impressive set. Celebrating the release of their debut LP ‘Memories of the Future’, She Drew the Gun took Birmingham on a journey into the dark side of pop with each track telling a different story. Their new track ‘Poem’ demonstrated this the most explicitly, laying out emotions in an incredibly stripped back manner. The piece was originally just Roach as a solo performer in 2013 but has since developed into a band, however occasionally throughout the gig it did feel still like she dominated the performance and the rest of the members were a backing band. Overall however the songs were autobiographical and personal in a refreshingly simple manner and a lack of complex instrumentals allowed the lyrics to be the main focus. Powerful riffs cut through the haunting, dreamlike melody and overall it was a great performance for the band’s final headliner of the tour, making audience members excited to see where the four piece will go next.
