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Words by Ed King

On Monday 9^th April, Nerina Pallot performs at The Glee Club in Birmingham – with support from Cattle & Cane.

Doors are open at The Glee Club from 7:00pm to 7:45pm, with the show scheduled to start at 8pm. Please note, latecomers will not be admitted. Tickets are priced at £18.50 (adv) – for direct show information, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.

Stopping off in Birmingham for the second date on her April UK tour, Nerina Pallot is on the road with her latest album, Stay Lucky. Released in October 2017, Pallot’s sixth studio album is a ten track line in the sand – a polished LP with strong melodies, recorded in a reported two week stint at London’s RAK Studio.

A friend once challenged my to name an artist, or band, that got better album by album. Try it. It’s not as easy as its sounds. But Nerina Pallot is a firm fixture on that list, having evolved from the Dear Frustrated Superstar days of pop intent into the savvy lyricist and genre crossing multi-instrumentalist that delivered The Sound and the Fury and Stay Lucky.

Pallot’s never been too far away from addictive melodies, but her last two albums are well rounded stamps of superiority; from vocals to rhythm, there’s an exciting late bloom coming from Pallot in these not-so-salad days. There’s also a bevvy EPs out there too, with Pallot undertaking the very literal Year of EPs project – releasing one extended play each month across 2014. Google and ye shall find.

But to pick out a couple of cherries from Pallot’s latest LP to reference, the title track wouldn’t be a bad place to start – ‘Stay Lucky’ shows off Pallot’s vocal range, subtle production, and aptitude for ivory led melodies. Then after a couple of backwards arrow clicks and you have ‘Bring Him Fire’, a tough edged declaration with some staccato guitar from Bernard Butler. But it’s all cracking stuff on Stay Lucky, with elements of jazz, soul, and mature pop melodies flecked throughout the album.

Pallot’s legion of live fans, that travel the length and breadth of the UK to follow her on tour (in a way that would end you up in court if you don’t have the ticket stubs to argue a defence), will be shouting from the side lines right about now as well. It’s not just Nerina Pallot’s music that has made her such a supported and self-governed artist, there is something inescapable and endearing (and funny) when she performs. If you haven’t seen Pallot perform live, you really should.

And whilst I could drown us all in hyperbole, adverbs, and Union Chapel reviews to back this up, instead I’ll stumble over a somewhat clumsy segue, as Birmingham gets its chance to find out on…

‘Stay Lucky’ – Nerina Pallot

Nerina Pallot performs at The Glee Club on Monday 9^th April – with support from Cattle & Cane. For direct gig information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.glee.co.uk/performer/nerina-pallot

For more on Nerina Pallot, visit www.nerinapallot.com

For more on Cattle & Cane, visit www.cattleandcane.co.uk

For more on The Glee Club venues, including further event listings across all sites, visit www.glee.co.uk

Words & pics by Aatish Ramchurn

The thing with the days now getting shorter is that the moment it starts turning dark, you feel like you’re running late.

At least, that’s how I felt as I was making my way to the O2 Academy – heading out to see long-time pop punk band, New Found Glory, as they arrive in Birmingham for their 20 Years of Pop Punk tour. Turns out I wasn’t late at all, but rather ten minutes early.

Each date of New Found Glory’s UK 20 Years of Pop Punk tour features tracks from two of their nine albums, plus songs from their new album, Makes Me Sick.

Birmingham’s set list would include tracks from Sticks and Stones and the self titled New Found Glory, albums which contained the more popular songs that propelled them to fame in the early 2000s.

Opening the night is Eastbourne’s five-piece, ROAM – the only support act. Soon to be releasing their second album on Hopeless Records, Great Height & Nosedives, ROAM grace the stage with an energetic set of heavy, pop punk anthems, at times encouraging circle pits. Judging from the people singing at the front ROAM have been built quite a fanbase in Birmingham and, after this set, have probably gained some new ones.

On to New Found Glory, who began their career as a quintet until guitarist Steve Klein left the band in 2014. The stage darkens, and the ‘Happy Anniversary’ melody from an episode of The Flintstones plays before they storm onto the stage, opening with ‘Understatement’.

I’m fairly certain that from the start there were four photographers in the photo pit. But that number appears to have doubled about one minute later, as if we have multiplied like Mr. Meeseeks from Rick and Morty. All of us are scrambling across the photo pit as Jordan Pundik, Ian Grushka and Chad Gilbert pace across the stage, showing no signs of ever slowing down.

As well as having to watch myself not bumping into other photographers, security has to look after the flurry of oncoming crowd surfers. I guess the ‘No Crowdsurfing’ sign, usually seen in both the O2 Institute and O2 Academy, is being ignored for tonight. Needless to say, this was probably the most intense photo pit experiences I’ve had (or so I thought before KRS-One).

Although the 20 Years of Pop Punk wasn’t a sell out show tonight there is still a decent turn out, with voices from the front to the back of the room singing along in pop punk unity to ’My Friends Over You’ at the end of the set. But New Found Glory’s night in Birmingham didn’t end at the O2 Academy, as they made a brief appearance at Subside, in Digbeth, to play DJ set and take photos with some of their fans.

New Found Glory @ O2 Academy 30.09.17 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

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ROAM – supporting New Found Glory @ O2 Academy 30.09.17 / Aatish Ramchurn – Birmingham Review

Tag: Geffen

BPREVIEW: Nerina Pallot @ The Glee Club 09.04.18