Live Review: Papercuts @ the Legion, Old Street

via Ragged Words
By Daniel Greenwood

A recent Sunday Times Culture article heralded the return of shoegaze, a genre supposedly pioneered by My Bloody Valentine’s superlative album Loveless. According the article’s author Paul Lester, the influence of the aforementioned Dubliners can be seen in artists like Deerhunter, Sigur Ros, and Lily Allen. And tonight’s show in Old Street’s swanked-out the Legion is organised by Sonic Cathedral, a record label run by music journalist Nathanial Cramp, the sweetheart of Lester’s Times article. But there’s one problem, none of the bands performing here tonight are ‘shoegaze’.

Trailer Trash Tracys open the show with a pleasant sound that doesn’t suggest anything beyond the oblong shape of the venue, and certainly nothing on the scale of a cathedral. This band sound more like fans of the Crystals than Slowdive, in fact, there’s barely anything shoegazey about this band. The same can be said for It Hugs Back, who take an age to start their set, a wait that seems unworthy. IHB have recently released their debut record, and if they’re looking to ship units they’ll need to do better than this. Perhaps you could argue the band are using delay pedals so call it shoegaze if you will, but it’s more pint-gaze. There’s an element of the mundane about their performance, dragging on into the evening, it’s inoffensive and unconvincing.

Papercuts’ maestro Jason Quever has been busying around the venue all night, scribbling in his notebook and supping glasses of red wine. And as the band finally kick things off, he’s in good spirits. Papercuts write love songs, Can’t Go Back (2007) is a superb break-up record, but only ‘Dear Employee’ and ‘John Brown’ make it out tonight. There are calls for ‘Unavailable’, and this reviewer whimpers pleadingly for ‘Summer Long’. But this particular tour is in aid of Papercuts’ fine new record You Can Have What You Want, what Ragged Words’ own Tim Groenland rightfully calls one of this year’s sunniest. ‘The Machine Will Tell Us So’ and ‘Once We Walked in the Sunlight’ are nailed by the band, though at times hindered by a mix that needs the bass turned down. Quever returns for a drab solo performance, ignoring calls for crowd favourites, and it’s a meek end to a rather disjointed evening for all concerned.