Gig review: Shiny Toy Guns @ Barfly, Cardiff

UK gig review

If you fuse together an infectious disco vibe, guitar grooves and buzzing electronic synth arrangements with vocals that ripple across the backing music effortlessly, you get what I would dub as ‘metallic edged pop with a twirl of new indie vibes’.

Despite that interpretation, it’s difficult to describe the Shiny Toy Gun’s sound as there is nothing else around at the moment you can easily compare it to. It’s unique. It’s catchy. It makes you want to get up and dance. And the lyrics flow around your head in a never ending loop.

And this was the effect their music had after only one listen to tracks from their debut album ‘We Are Pilots’. Seeing what the band would offer in a live performance was an enticing thought.

The band; guitarist and vocalist Chad Petree, Jeremy Dawson on synths, drummer Mikey Martin and Carah Faye on vocals, have been together as a foursome since 2004.  Trekking across the Atlantic on their current tour, the band had landed in Cardiff.

The venue - the cavern like Barfly club, was packed with people. Complete with dishevelled hair styles, trendy stripes, flat pumps and skinny jeans, the crowd were a fashion-conscious overt bunch. After two support acts who managed to tickle the audience’s ability to move to the beats, the Shiny Toy Guns made their appearance to their eagerly awaiting crowd.

Rainbow-coloured lights flashed from the stage creating a clubesque atmosphere that triggered the crowd into a dancing frenzy. ‘Le Disko’, with its futuristic gleam, achieved this to maximum effect. ‘Don’t Cry Out’, which has a retro 80’s sound, showcased Carah’s distinctive pure sounding voice, and it was another song that received a buzz from the crowd. And not forgetting their single release ‘You Are the One’ which worked well with Chad and Carah’s vocals complementing one another. Chad later displayed his vocal talents fully with the more chilled out track ‘Chemistry of a Car Crash’.

Singing further songs from their album, the band seemed totally engrossed in their performance whilst on stage and in particular, Carah was looking enthused as she occasionally rattled a tambourine, her eyes dusted in dark make-up to match her black waistcoat.

Seeing the band perform their tracks live seemed to unleash the energy and vitality contained in their songs. Their music is spirited with meaningful lyrics that are perhaps not fully appreciated in such a venue where bodies crush and swerve to the beats seeping from the speakers.

The gig finally came to a close with ‘Rainy Monday’, a song that pin-pricks your emotions with lines such as “I can see that you’re not beside me but I still feel you shine inside of me”. The track also balances more upbeat vibes with a slower undercurrent and was a surprising choice to end the show with. Yet when I stepped back outside, the falling raindrops made it seem highly appropriate.

All-in-all, a shiny performance from the shiny quartet and hopefully a return visit will be on the horizon. Alternatively, catch them elsewhere in the UK - they are performing in cities around the country throughout the rest of March and the beginning of April.

www.shinytoyguns.com
www.myspace.com/shinytoyguns

By Alexis Forsyth, MyVillage, 15th March