Music > Live Reviews

Sleeper

Norwich Arts Centre

08/04/18

Ah, man, I feel like I am at the Arts Centre under false pretences. The thing is, Britpop passed me by. One or two acts aside, I just couldn’t be doing with it. So, why I am here for Sleeper, then? Well, sometimes, just occasionally, I’ll go to something that isn’t my thing to keep someone else company and, well, broaden my horizons.

First up is Glasgow’s Lucia. A four piece band who may - or may not - share a name with their guitar-toting singer, the sound is a kinda post-punk-psyche that comes on like Franz Ferdinand channelling both Joy Division and Hawkwind. There is a deliciously filthy bass, drumming that manages to combine the Krautrock motorik beat and glam stomp, spiky guitars and big choruses. Lucia herself is an engaging front woman with a voice that has something of Liam Gallagher’s attitude about it. By the end of the set, a good few of the crowd had been won over. 

Now, for Sleeper. The current line-up features the three constants from their 90s glory days in Louise Wener (vox, rhythm guitar), Jon Stewart (lead guitar) and Andy Maclure (drums), along with new boy Kieron Pepper (bass). Tonight, they are joined by Amy (keys) and a rhythm guitarist whose name, in a total lack of professionalism, I failed to get. Sorry Sleeperbloke. All six members of the band are enjoying themselves. There’s not that much in the way of showmanship - no scissor kicks or duck walking here! - but Wener and Stewart have the kind of effortless cool that just can’t be bought, learnt or faked.

With six hit singles in fifteen songs, this is a crowd pleaser of a set. Things kick off with Bedhead before running through Pyrotechnician, Delicious, What Do I Do Now (complete with clapalong intro and singalong chorus), Lie Detector, Dress Like Your Mother, Statuesque and Nice Guy Eddie. There’s Sleeper’s contribution to the Trainspotting OST in a cover of Blondie’s Atomic. Scarily, the band’s first hit single - Inbetweener - is introduced as being released in the same year that keyboard player Amy was born. The main set then winds up with Vegas and Feeling Peaky which runs into Lou Reed’s Satellite of Love. After a brief pause, there is a three song encore of Alice In Vain, Factor 41 and Sale of the Century.

Throughout the set, the band keep the energy levels high and these are matched by an audience that is enthusiastic and devoted. As I said at the outset, I missed Sleeper at the peak of their success. Can they convert this cynical, non-fan over? Most definitely and I’ll be checking out the back catalogue. That said, for my musical tastes, it was Lucia that was - just - the act of the night. 

Photo: Peter Koudstaal