Music > Live Reviews

Jaws

06/03/15

In a room full of denim jackets and Doc Martens, EPIC studios welcomed JAWS- an indie pop band from Birmingham whose surf tones left the crowd anticipating their set from the moment doors opened.

Kick starting the night were local band Claws, really setting the atmosphere for the rest of the evening. Josie’s upbeat personality resonated through the crowd, Claws’ lively songs getting everyone up and moving from the word go, a tough thing to do due to a crowd so eager for the main act. This opening band created an undercurrent of beaming happiness, this feeling further sustained with second support band Happyness. Quirky beach tones echoed in the venue, the band’s tangent banter between songs generating uncontrollable smiles all round. With eccentric track names (‘Great Minds Think Alike, All Brains Taste The Same’ an example of their unconventionality) and their passionate performance, the crowd were well and truly treated to some new and upcoming music that sounded as gorgeous to us as limited edition glitter filled cassettes are to the indie youth generation of today (that being actual merch on sale that evening; pretty cool stuff to buy as well as listen to from Claws!).

Then, as the lights faded to blue and left the audience feeling washed in waves of music, JAWS took to the stage. ‘Surround You’ started the show perfectly, the whole audience slowly moving to the sweet and calm tonnes of this track and creating a communal feeling of contentment. A highlight of JAWS’ entire set was their atmospheric use of lighting, especially throughout one of my favourite tracks of theirs,‘Time’, the lights coordinating really well in time to the extent of being mesmerized. Later in the show JAWS played some new tracks they’d been experimenting with, these leaning towards the indie/rock crossover genre due to heavier guitar tonality, the fast rocky pace even leading front man Connor Schofield to break his guitar strap and finish off with an improvised knee/elbow balancing act.

I think the most surprising element of the night was the crowd. Usually for a band of this genre I would expect chilled dancing, with the uptempo tunes more movement. I did not anticipate the almost-violent, vigorous mosh pit that opened up behind me. However, this unforeseen energy of the audience created a vibrant dynamic that can only be experienced at gigs, this (probably drunk) brawl of people sweatingly jumping about actually making a lot of us smile, as we were all experiencing an equal delight from this brilliant band, this also highlighted through everyone joint singing/shouting/screeching of JAWS’ track ‘Stay In’.

To end the show they finished with ‘Be Slowly’ followed by ‘Gold’, their most renowned and enjoyable songs to top off the night. Overall, a really enjoyable evening in a superb venue that left me, and the entirety of the crowd, fully grinning after a wonderful night.

9/10