Brighton-based three-piece Tall Ships return to Nottingham for their much anticipated third visit, and we corner bassist Matt and drummer Jamie for a quick chat before the gig. Whilst falling upon a mountain of noodles they confess that they’re completely exhausted: “When we left for this tour, we were fresh faced!” says Matt, gesturing apologetically to his unruly facial hair. It’s understandable, considering that we’ve caught them on the last leg of a mammoth UK tour in promotion of their first full-length album ‘Everything Touching.’ The previous night saw them perform to a sold-out crowd at London’s XOYO, which Jamie describes as “fucking crazy, really something special.”
Tall Ships’ intelligent twist on danceable indie rock was recently and determinedly defined as “math” by the NME, but the band refute this: “Nah, we’re really not clever enough! We like technical music, lots of loops, but we’re definitely not math rock. It’s a great compliment though.” The same bashfulness applies to their down-played re-telling of a summer spent on the road, culminating in a headline slot on the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading and Leeds festival. “We almost missed the chance. We ignored the email from Huw Stephens [Radio One] for something like six days, but thankfully we replied just in time. Unbelievable.”
Talk turns to the future. The boys ambitiously promise us a follow-up album by March 2013 but with a coveted support slot on Nada Surf’s European tour still to come, it looks unlikely that their schedule will allow them to take their eyes off ‘Everything Touching’ any time soon.
They advise us to rush upstairs to watch their Danish support band and Big Scary Monsters label mates, Dad Rocks, who provide a quirky, folk-influenced set. Combining stunning vocal melodies with accomplished and largely acoustic instrumentation, their charming, witty modern-day shanties of unemployment and YouTube go down well with Bodega’s lively and rapidly filling floor.
After a quick beer break, Tall Ships take to the stage with album-opener, ‘T=0’. The set flows seamlessly and samples exclusively from ‘Everything Touching’. Lead singer, Ric seems genuinely moved by the terrific response that they receive from the crowd, and ‘Books’ invokes an enthusiastic sing-along from an audience clearly familiar and appreciative. The galloping ‘Oscar’, their favourite track to play live, is a particular highlight, exemplifying a performance that is confident, impassioned and taut. The set closes with a haunting rendition of ‘Vessels’ and once again the crowd provide the backing vocals; there can be no doubt that Tall Ships are on a stellar trajectory. After such a triumphant return, we look forward to seeing Tall Ships gracing far larger stages than the Social in the very near future.
[Written for The Mic, Oct ’12]
Louder Than Yours 