REVIEW: NEON INDIAN + TROPHY WIFE AT BRISTOL COOLER (19/11/11)
There’s been more and more decent gigs sneaking in at the Cooler on Bristol’s Park Street in recent months and this little gem proved the icing on the cake. Neon Indian have been receiving rave reviews from the London press and it was finally Bristol’s turn to sample the boogie-down delights of this electo troupe.
But first up was Trophy Wife, in what was their second visit to the city in as many weeks. Like Foals, Trophy Wife come from Oxford and like Foals they are pretty damn mesmerising – especially the drummer who just makes you grin solidly from ear to ear with his stand up signature groovy drum marching. Then there’s the face-pulling of one of the dudes behind the synth and the Lou Reed cool of the lead singer. Like the band they were here to support, their music is undeniably catchy and makes you wanna move, like seriously move. Like a cool Vampire Weekend with the depth of New Order and the appeal Crystal Castles these guys are definitely ones to watch. Their single Microlight proved the highlight of an excellent set.
A tough act to follow, but on this the last night of their tour, Neon Indian rose to the challenge. Frontman Alan Palomo could be Prince. He’s got that beautiful, soft featured face, floppy styled curly hair and he’s about the size of a pint bottle. He’s got the confidence, the charisma and the moves to command the attention of the whole room for the whole set without coming across as arrogant or pretentious (which is more than can be said for Prince). From the opening of the set there was some serious head bobbing and toe tapping going down but by song three the whole place had errupted into modern TOTP 2 don’t give a fuck style dancing. With awesome electro fuelled songs like Deadbeat Summer, Psychic Chasms and Ephemeral Artery this is no average indie act. Seeing is believing.
