Two years ago, prior to the release of their debut album Snapshot, the NME were declaring The Strypes to be the saviours of rock ‘n’ roll. Here were four young lads from Ireland who played covers of Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry songs. Just in case the implications weren’t clear, the words “Rolling” and “Stones” frequently peppered articles.
Now, with their second album due out in the summer, The Strypes are on a nationwide tour. All of which brings them to The Rescue Rooms on a Wednesday evening.
First up though is support band RED FACES. While the name is probably meant to bring to mind thoughts of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane and Rod Stewart, they actually seem to be named after the fact that they all look too hot on stage in their jackets.
They have a couple of very good songs. The second track sounds like the 1964 Beatles via way of the Arctic Monkeys. Their final track is also very good even though it’s a bit on the long side and it contains the line, “ain’t going down without a fight” which seems a bit funny from a band that appear about as edgy as a satsuma.
That’s about the only lyric that I can actually make out of the entire set as the singer’s vocal style doesn’t quite suit the music. They are clearly big fans of The Beatles but they lack the energy and excitement of early John, Paul, George & Ringo.
THE STRYPES show them how to do it. Here is a performance full of “sweat and teenage innocence” It is a gig full of genuine exhilaration and vitality.
Of their new material, there is a song that sounds like it would have fitted in on AM by Arctic Monkeys and another that sounds like a Jack White solo track. There’s also another song, 84, which features that Alex Turner guitar echo effect.
Scumbag City Blues from the recent Flat Out EP sounds a bit more like ’70s blues rather than ’60s blues, albeit played in a style that re-calls ’80s LA rather than Canvey Island. There are also a couple of songs that bring to mind ’80s new wave and it’s great to hear the band developing their sound.
So, a really well constructed set, made up of some older classics and some great new tunes, performed by a really talented band with boundless energy. Why does this only feel like a really good gig then, rather than a great one?
Near the end of the night it hits me. As the band play Blue Collar Jane, a love song about a girl who drinks tea and drives a 4×4, and Still Gonna Drive You Home, I realise what’s missing – sex. The latter sounds like a song sung by a taxi driver rather than someone who’s coming in for coffee.
When the Stones covered Willie Dixon’s I Just Want To Make Love To You, there was a chance that women in the audience could get pregnant just by hearing it. Mick could make you quiver with a purse of the lips and a shake of the hips. When The Strypes cover sexual/political proto-punk song Kick Out The Jams by MC5 in the encore, it really doesn’t work.
It also feels like there’s a lack of charisma. It’s harsh to compare any band to the Rolling Stones but since somebody has already done that, I think that it’s fair to point out that Ross Farrelly is no Jagger. He barely says two words to the audience all night and if you’re going to wear sunglasses for a gig then you need to be able to convey emotion through the rest of your face and your vocals as Lou Reed and Joey Ramone did.
At one point guitarist, Josh McClorey even takes a mobile phone off someone in the front row because he’s filming the gig on it. Surely a bunch of young lads should expect something like this in 2015.
Both of these issues could just be an age thing. In time the band could learn more about sex and experience could help deal with their shyness. A brilliant set-closing You Can’t Judge A Book By Looking At The Cover shows that the band have the talent. In a couple of years they may even live up to their “saviours of rock ‘n’ roll” tag.
Review by Gav Squires
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