Pale Blue Eyes hit the road for a number of dates to promote their latest album `New Place` inspired by their move from South Devon to South Yorkshire which was released last month. When I first saw the name I assumed they were some kind of tribute to the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground but that was soon cleared that up for me.
Tonight`s support band are the trio Bloodworm who have been tagged as Goth Post-Punk from the Midlands. Indeed singer/guitarist George Curtis, drummer Euan Stevens and bass player Chris Walker have made the fifty mile trip down from Nottingham for their debut show in Brum and for me it was worth the effort for this compelling thirty minute introduction that if I`m honest transported me back to the early eighties. There were some captivating numbers such as `Depths`, dreamy Back of a Hand`, the brooding and threatening `Bloodlust` with its enticing lyric of “You Come For Me, I Come For You” before closing out with `Cemetery Dance`. There were nods to B Movie and Our Daughters Wedding and hints of The Cure`s `A Forest` and Bauhaus`s `In the Flat Field` but this was very much their own dystopian sound. A band that I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on.
Three albums in three years is pretty good going and during tonight`s hour long set, the band share numbers from the latest release `New Place` along with selected tracks from `Souvenirs` and `This House.’
There`s minimal fuss as the trio of Matthew Board (guitar, vocals), Lucy Board (drums, synths), and Aubrey Simpson (bass) take to the stage with Dean Honer (synths guitar) joining to allow Lucy to keep the vital heartbeat rhythm going on drums. The show opens with the driving and flowing `Scrolling` from the latest album before a favourite of mine `TV Flicker` with its wavering tones has me drifting off into thoughts of my own.
The mesmerising `Rituals` always brings to mind a touch of Orchestral Manoeuvres in The Dark before `Honeybear` is shared and is as ethereal as on record. `The Dreamer` is just that, delightfully illusory before `Motionless` the band`s first single ever released takes us further into a reflective mellow introspective sphere.
At times tonight it felt as if the band were guiding us along an auditory journey or voyage that can only be described as utterly joyful. I looked around this packed audience to see a number of participants with genuine smiles on their faces at what was being shared.
As they say all good things come to an end and the show closed out with the contemplative `Sister` which brought to mind my own younger sibling who is over in Northern Ireland this month before leaving us with `Half Light` a final cut from the latest release.
The band seemed genuinely touched by how many people had ventured out to see them tonight, especially in a venue that is not short on talented artists playing each and every night. I have to say I was really blown away by PBE who shared some driving synth, bass, guitar and drum laden rhythms with a real sense of Krautrock which moved from being delightfully dreamy, absorbing, and introspective one minute to an almost overwhelming wall of controlled noise.
There`s still a half dozen dates to get to see this band and I’d grasp the opportunity as if there’s any justice in the World much bigger venues await this band on their next outing.
