Live review: Various Cruelties @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester

With the support from the likes of BBC6 Music and Radio 1, and with a ‘Later with Jools Holland’ slot already under their belts, they seemed like a splendid choice for Michelle's first gig of 2012

Jayne Robinson

Last updated: 19th Jan 2012

Date: January 16th 2012

Words: Michelle Lloyd

“Blue Monday”. The most depressing day of the year, and a bitterly cold Manchester evening. Various Cruelties have their work cut out for them from the get go, but the ever-familiar Deaf Institute is calling and so too are the relatively new quartet fronted by Yorkshire man Liam O’Donnell.

With the support from the likes of BBC6 Music and Radio 1, and with a ‘Later with Jools Holland’ slot already under their belts, they seemed like a splendid choice for my first gig of 2012.

Support act Born Blonde defrosted us befittingly with their swaggering brit-pop fuelled set, a very Northern London 5-piece with a front man who could easily give Ian Brown a run for his money.

The Music Hall now awash with a distinctly assorted crowd, it was time for Various Cruelties to take to the stage. Admittedly I didn’t know what to expect, only being familiar with one of their tracks, but as soon as the opening lines of ‘Neon Truth’ were uttered I was transfixed. The warmth in O’Donnell’s unconventially soulful voice was a huge curveball, not expected in the slightest.

Sounds reminiscent to the Motown era infused with prevalent guitar, pounding drums and nifty lyrics shouldn’t work, but they do. Hard to explain, but think along the lines of Dusty Springfield and Etta James’ velvet tones being mixed with jittering, imposing guitar sounds akin to those of The Strokes and the Arctic Monkeys. Hard, I know, but trust me it works.

The lovelorn ‘Great Unkown’ saw O’Donnell put down his guitar and engage further with the already immersed crowd. The song, chronicling the perils of possible break-up, was delivered beguilingly and honestly by the doe-eyed singer. His enamouring stage presence and engrossing eye contact was enough to draw you in and make you believe you were the only other person in the room. Similarly in ‘She Is The One’; his ardent, rich, textured voice somehow wrapping itself celestially around the finespun guitar.

Despite having only been together just over a year, Various Cruelties have supported the likes of The Vaccines, Kasabian and Mumford and Sons and seem unfazed and at home on the first night of the tour under the infamous glistening mirror-ball.

Bantering with the crowd between tracks and humbly thanking everyone for coming down, they reminisced about the last time they played the venue and no-one showed up. There’s something very authentic about Various Cruelties, something very amiable. A distinct lack of pretence, which is incredibly favourable in today’s somewhat assuming industry.

‘Capsize’ provided, arguably, the best example of what we have to look forward to from the self-titled debut album out on April 2nd - copious amounts of soul and passion with guitar riffs and infectious melodies aplenty. More up-tempo tracks ‘Thrill is Gone’ and ‘Beautiful Delirium’ provided great opportunities for feverish toe tapping with imposing cascading drums, jerky guitar and commanding vocals. Hints of Razorlight back in their prime. Crowd-pleaser ‘Chemicals’ drew the night’s proceedings to a close in all its sparkling psychedelic, Northern Soul tinged glory.

With much talk lately about the death of guitar music in the UK, a lack of quality and a general ‘crisis’, I wonder whether these people are actually aware that such talent has just taken on a new guise and evolved. Various Cruelties offer a perfect example of this evolution; all the components of a guitar band yet soul inspired and offering something a little bit different.

They’re niche and I like it. Classic yet current.