Gig Review: Saint Clair At The George Tavern

Saint Clair make the George Tavern come alive for being their powerful alt rock sounds with a depth and range of a band confident in their element, dragging the 90s kicking and streaming into the current decade

Saint Clair are one of the most exciting voices in the UK indie scene today with a voice beyond their years; and paired with Jo From School; they both demonstrate a raw state of the indie scene that is refreshing and exciting to watch at tastemaker independent venue The George.

This is the second time in a week that I’ve seen Jo From School; having first caught the band supporting the excellent 1000 Rabbits at their Rabbitfete at Chat’s Palace, a few miles down the road. They are a band that has a real sense of awkward homegrown earnest charm to them, and their tracks are honest, raw and have a feeling of friendship build up in the audience – on one of the tracks; Jo talks up her band members, wanting the appeal of a band that has been lifelong friends to maybe just be a family. Her new song; out this week – ‘Living Room’ – is the most country-tinted song that they have done this far and the audience engagement goes down a storm here: ‘Julia Roberts’ asks the crowd to name their favourite Julia Roberts films before realising that they’ve just opened the floor to a whole sold out room at the George Tavern; and encourages people to come to the merch stand afterwards. It has a touch of dream/bedroom pop optimism to it that makes the band effortlessly likeable and easy to listen to over and over again.

Then it’s time for Saint Clair; who are our headliners. The London natives have already played at The Great Escape Festival this year and are the latest exciting guitar band to come out of London with a Radiohead-type feel to them. Their distortion and could be if they wanted to be punk sounds create them as the outsiders trying something different and it’s easy to see why they’re high on the billing at Manchester’s Neighbourhood Festival with names like Girl in the Year Above, Keo and Florence Road. Vocalist Toby Bardsley is front and centre here - next to Lawrence on lead guitar and Adam on bass, joined by Beth at the back on drums. The EP being a statement intent that crafts; in the live scene – a sense of familiarity whilst offering something new and different. Their drummer, Beth Diana – has openly talked about the heavy music she was raised on – with Metallica and Deftones – and that injects a lot of sound into the group to give it is rougher edge that’s readily apparent when they set on stage for their first song; ‘Something to be Said’.

There’s plenty of singalongs here – very much something to be said - the crowd are already well-acquainted with the lyrics and for a band with one EP under their belt, it’s great to have such an in-built fanbase. Their bass lines drift into sludge at parts with a slow-burn guitar lift – the 90s alternative from the start instantly making Radiohead fans feel right at home as it kilters off towards Pixies at the touch of a button. They’d be the perfect fit for the halloweekender at the George later this month, which has a Pixies fronted evening with Sonic Youth, The Hives and Devo covers played by some of the latest new bands in the scene.

Saint Clair take us through the track with the sound of a band with the world at their feet. Tracks like ‘Too Young to Notice’, EP opener – has the hallmark of a rock vocal set – swagger and attitude that comes with the bravado of a band double their size and experience (it might just be the riff, and it’s a great one, but it stays with you much longer than that). When it’s time for ‘Gretchen’, the band recognise the importance of this track to them: stripped back honesty that allows room for its instrumentation and the melody to breathe. These lyrics are effectively combining both vulnerability and visceral breakdowns at the heart of it all – already building a reputation in London’s live scene and within seconds of these songs being deployed it’s easy to see why. It comes with a punctuation of deliberation – hitting you with a gut punch of warm feelings that feel easy and accessible on a first listen; but a few songs removed, become rapidly complex.

Their range of influence is evident: this is a band that plays for the song rather than the band themselves – and Saint Clair come alive because of that; tapping into Ringo Starr out of all the Beatles. And these are good songs – their payout is rewarded; the young-skewering crowd at the George bellows their lyrics back at them like they’ve been around for years. It’s the band living up to that 90s gig culture revival that has perhaps been best summed up by 90s and early 2000s fashion being in for The Strokes gig at the 02 recently, enduring and nostalgic. There’s sometimes no need to go above and beyond - and that honest, endearing unpretentiousness sees Saint Clair established as clear favourites among the audience. The aching lyrics of ‘Gretchen’ resonate: “I can feel you in my bones,” Bardsley cries. The band have found a masterstroke and making songs feel both big, arena, anthem-ready and built for venues like these at the same possible time.

This might be the last time in some while that you’ll get the chance to catch Saint Clair in a venue as small as The George. They feel destined to capitalise on the wave of 90s nostalgia sweeping the music scene at the moment; yet it offers up something new and exciting without being tied down. Rather than feel like a throwback to an era gone by without nothing new to say; Saint Clair have succeeded, in kicking and screaming and dragging the era into the current decade.

Photography by gracie hall @gracroc-26