The Guest List

As I walked through Digbeth, the streets were filled with backwards Kangol hats as indie fans headed down to see The Guest List at Birmingham’s O2 Institute on their Something Real tour. As I joined the queue for the venue, it soon became apparent that I was going to be older than the majority of the audience for the night. However, this isn’t really something I should complain about: the current indie invasion has finally given kids accessible music that they can go out and see almost every week, which isn’t something I really had a few years ago.

Once inside, it seemed as though the band had in fact appealed not only to teenage indie fans, but also to those I can only label as your typical “6 Music dads”. And I’m sure I know which demographic enjoyed the support act’s set more…

To open the night, art-rock band Spanish Horses took to the stage. I knew little to nothing about them prior, but they blew me away. I have recently been debating, “where has all the fun music gone?” and it’s exactly where Spanish Horses are. The five-piece, fronted by lead singer and songwriter Tom Onezime, are arguably one of the more experimental bands out there these days, toying with synths and harmonicas, and significantly varying tempos throughout their tracks. One would argue that inspiration from Belle and Sebastian and Smashing Pumpkins is apparent in their rhythms, while Lou Reed has influenced Onezime’s singing style.

After forming in Paris and moving to London, Spanish Horses have only been together for around three years. Despite it still being early days for them, the band have clearly already established a presence, as well as a distinct sound that is certainly going to progress from here. With a few Bandcamp projects already released, they are set to release their debut EP, Small Notions, on 27 November.

As 9pm struck, it was time for The Guest List to take over, opening with ‘You Should Care.’ Despite them playing with such a force of energy, the anticipation and excitement in the room seemed to deflate a little, but I think this was just down to the song choice, as they do have much more energetic songs they could have maybe opened with instead. This mellow tone continued as they went into ‘If Ever Your Devil is Kind,’ which kind of established the vibe for the rest of the night from there.

However, as their iconic riff that introduces ‘Ruine’ began, the room erupted into cheers, and I could only hear “da-da-da” echoing all around me. It was at this point the set certainly picked up, and the power in frontman Cai Alty’s voice became a lot stronger, with raw vocals that gave the band a more alternative and grunge sound. To follow, they played ‘When the Lights are Out,’ a song that is particularly important to be played in a scene with such a young audience. On multiple occasions before playing, Alty has explained that the song’s themes surround men’s mental health and dealing with anxiety: in a world where mental health problems are overlooked, this song certainly stresses that it is okay to not be okay, which is so important for the younger generation to understand.

As their set progressed, The Guest List played songs from their album Something Real and some older singles, such as ‘Loose Tongue,’ which had replaced ‘Canada’ from their previous night’s show. Their penultimate song was ‘Slow Down Sally,’ bringing the energy back down ahead of the finale. Phone torches were held up, and the crowd turned into a sea as they swayed to the melodic chorus. To end, of course, the band played a teasing segue into their biggest song, ‘Weatherman.’ The anthem emphasises the threats that climate change poses, and stresses the fear that comes with the changing world. I can only praise the band for creating a song like this, as well as ‘When the Lights are Out,’ as both highlight how educated they are, and that they are utilising their platform for good. The bridge and final chorus of ‘Weatherman’ ended their set on a high, and as the house lights came up, you could see the disappointment on audience members’ faces as they realised it was all over.

Overall, The Guest List aren’t a bad band at all. They’ve attracted a huge following in a short period, and are having opportunities given to them that could be life-changing. However, after hearing the entirety of Something Real live, along with their other singles, I can’t help but wonder what’s next for the band. What are they going to do differently now to step up and set themselves apart from other bands in this new indie scene? There’s been much discourse around indie music recently, and whether this generation of artists will be able to stick it out, or whether the same songs will begin to be churned out year after year. So it will be interesting to see how The Guest List, a band with such potential, move forward from here.