Music > Live Reviews

The Primitives

The Adrian Flux Waterfront

16/09/21

Originally active between 1986 and 1992, with a slightly shambolic, loose sound taking in 60s girl groups, jangly guitars and the lighter, poppier end of punk, I always kinda thought of The Primitives as archetypical eighties indie band. Whilst that might not be too wide of the mark, tonight shows that to be a blinkered assessment. 

Yes, the sound is as loose, slightly shambolic and jangly as I was expecting. There is however a classic, 60s garage rock muscle to it that I, a casual (at best) fan, was simply not expecting. Paul Court’s guitar is classy and punchy but without any unnecessary flash. Tracy Trace’s vocals may not be technically brilliant but there is enthusiasm and heart and I will always, always value those over lung-busting virtuosity. Tig Williams is a drummer of finesse but he can sure hit hard when he has to. Tonight’s not-so-secret weapon is Paul Sampson. With just four strings and stack, without an armoury of pedals, his is punchiest bass sound that I have heard for a good while. 

The set is almost Ramones-like in that it takes in 20 songs - including encore - in an hour. It runs from debut single Thru the Flowers through to the title track of last album Spin-O-Rama and I’ll Trust The Wind from New Thrills, the band’s most recent EP. Described by Melody Maker as the “perfect single” by the “perfect band”, a cracking take on biggest hit Crash is the penultimate song of the main set. Court announces the next song by saying that Crash isn’t their best song, Way Behind Me is. He may not be wrong but Sick of It and Empathise are my highlights of the main set and the encore of Spacehead and Everything Shining Bright run them close.

If the world were fair, The Primitives would be selling out the LCR, like some of their near contemporaries. On this showing, they deserve more than a half empty Waterfront Studio. These songs, new and old, are worth more than that.