It was always going to be an emotional day as the team that carries this town’s proud name had to win and hope other results went their way to retain their presence in the Sky Bet Championship division. To at least take our minds off the day ahead, local heroes Solar Eyes were selected to share around forty minutes of dance vibes to warm us all up, prior to the final home game. The bulk of what the band shared was from their recent superb self titled debut album release.
The show opened with `Alcatraz`, with its rolling grinding beat with a delightful growling bass leading us along. The hypnotic `Bulldozer` follows before the spaghetti western tinges of `Dreaming Of The Moon` blares out and a fair few of the crowd are swaying along. The reflective `Let’s Run Away` has at least me drifting off into thoughts of the day ahead before the quartet play `Top Of The World` which has that wonderful Phil Spector “Wall of Sound” vibe but is a double edged sword for singer Glenn especially, as it was played on Match of The Day but over snippets of local rivals Aston Villa.
The introspective `She Kissed The Gun` rings out before heading into the upbeat `(At Least) Paranoia Loves Me` then
`Take Me To the Man` which becomes delightfully trippy with a snippet of The Stooges `I Wanna Be Your dog` blended in for good measure. The band Glenn Smyth, Sebastian Maynard Francis, Liam McKeown and Emily Doyle leave us all wanting more after a final mesmerising track, the marvellously titled ‘Naked Monkey On A Spaceship’
This was a cracking show and I’m sure the band gained a fair few new fans after they left us all with hope in our heart and a smile on our faces. The band have a tour planned later this year with a hometown show at The O2 Institute in October but in the mean time grab a copy of their debut album, I can guarantee it’s a belter.
