Spectrals shake and shimmy at Glasgow Hinterland

Nothing new but why worry when it’s good?

One of the many benefits that come about with these festivals is that you can get to hear bands that would otherwise pass you by. With so many acts fighting for attention, it can be pretty easy to miss out on a lot and unless they are picked up by some hipsters or influential sources, they may be overlooked.

After getting the Hinterland timetable in our grubby mitts, a search on bands at certain times suggested a few potential highlights and Spectrals were one that sounded promising. Well, at least we think they sounded promising.

A mischievous msypace page meant we weren’t exactly sure if the Spectral we were listening to would be the band that was performing in MacSorleys. Thankfully, the law about it being illegal to lie on the internet kicked in and we were in the right place at the right time.

The twang of the accent and the fondness for telling elongated tales put you in mind of the Arctic Monkeys and there isn’t a total dissimilarity between them and Spectrals. Some of the 60’s based influences are the same but clearly both bands diverge at an early part of their musical journey.

Spectrals remain rooted to the first half of the 60s but do a fine job in covering a lot of sounds from that era. At times, the surf craze is leant upon, at others, the pioneering girl group melodies and drum beats come to the fore.

It ties in with the fact that a blending of genres was more alive back then and you can’t shake the sound of early Beatles demo’s or a lot of the tracks found on the ‘Live At The BBC’ collection.

That is not to say that Spectral put us in mind of The Beatles, that would be unfair to them by heaping pressure and silly expectations upon them. However, there is a strength in material, if not quite the confidence or variety that they may need to push onto a wider fanbase.

The band were the victims of that great Glaswegian humour when they asked if they could find lodgings for the evening.

One wag asked the group if they liked the band Pavement and upon a positive answer, were told that could be their bed for the night.

The lead singer got the joke in the end. So…they may not have been up to speed with the craic and banter but with their music sounding so wonderfully not of this time as well, that is not something to overly concern yourself with.

There was something rather endearing about the Spectrals set at Hinterland and hopefully it won’t be too long until they are back in Glasgow bringing their unique take on a familiar and likable sound.

What’s your favourite era of music?

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