The Long Blondes are very, very cool and extremely good fun. It was my sister who made me aware of them, through repeated plays of their album ‘Someone to drive you home’ for the duration of the Christmas holidays. However, I hadn’t fully understood their appeal until I saw them live – Kate Jackson’s effortlessly chic femme fatale cool and guitarist Dorian’s razor-sharp indie cheekbones and tousled blond hair make for a great entrance.
The band then proceed to take us through their energetic, fast-paced, super-enthusiastic album at an energetic, fast-paced, super-enthusiastic rate. Songs like ‘Once and never again’ fly past in the blink of an eye, the breakneck pace accompanied by Kate’s dancing. Actually, dancing is an understatement – what she’s doing is flicking her hair and twisting her hips in a mesmerising display of empowered, sexualised abandon.
Think of every single eyelinered, corduroy-wearing girl you’ve seen attracting attention in a black-walled, cider-floored indie night with her over-the-top, are-they-or-aren’t-they embarrassing moves. Well, in her head, that girl is dancing like Kate Jackson. In fact, in her head, she is Kate Jackson. I thought I was her by the end.
(It’s a picture of some indie/emo bracelets by way of illustration, see?)
This is the genius of Kate: every single girl in the audience wants to be her, and every man fancies her like hell, but it’s somehow all extremely acceptable. Her outfit has the same contradictory charm: a buttoned up turquoise shirts, black skinny jeans and heels. I’ve shown more flesh this at a government summit meeting, but she’s somehow very, very sexy and cool.
She’s also the only woman ever seen get a wedding proposal from a fan – and turn it down – live onstage. That’s cool and amazing.
The songs continue. We’re treated to ‘Five ways to end it’ and ‘Giddy stratospheres’. I notice something other than Kate and Dorian — apparently there are other people in this band too. Alas, as pretty as they are there’s no disguising the second guitar and bass player are, well, standing around a lot. Now I’m very easy-going when it comes to band members with no other purpose (I mean, come on, what did Chris Gentry do in Menswear? Please email me if you know) than being cool but there needs to be more attitude from those at the side.
When Kate and Dorian start singing at each other during ‘Only lovers left alive’ I have flashbacks to a most unlikely (but curiously similarly-named) parallel: Katie and Crispin from Queen Adreena. It’s fun and frenetic and Emma and Reenie need to move mroe to make the whole thing work, because so many other aspects of the package are so good.
Take the lyrics. According to the NME, “like Pulp, they’re not afraid to use smart lyrics as weapons”. When Kate shimmies around telling you that “People think I’m being perverse on purpose” you can’t help but listen and when Dorian tells us how “I was still in full-time education when I met you” he’s doing a great job transforming the quotidian into the spectacular, and the mundane into the demi-mondaine.
I said once to my friend David, singer and lyricist of the awesome More Silage, that when he sings about having a crappy temp job in the holidays, its touches a nerve with a lot more people than Mike Skinner’s tales of urban violence. I feel my point was proved by Dorian’s songs about worrying about getting into university or living up to your parents’ expectations, real issues which I find a lot more relevant than, say, crack or drive-by shootings. Being able to articulate themselves like this only adds to the Long Blondes’ charm.
The band come back for a triumphant rendition of ‘Separated by motorways’ and tell us that they want to come back to Belgium… I’ve got a feeling they’ll be very welcome when they do!
3 Comments
March 22, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Yay! At last we have the long awaited Long Blondes review! I agree wholeheartedly, they are indeed cool and amazing, and I so am Kate Jackson in my head when I dance. Though I must admit we were treated to one of Ms Jackson’s more revealing outfits in Birmingham, that I can’t see even you wearing down the Comission. She did of course pull it off perfectly, looking sassy but not slutty, and just generally looking ace. Hoorah for bands that understand music should above all be enjoyable, and injecting a bit of style and originality into what I hesitantly refer to as ‘the scene’!
March 22, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Good stuff. I have never seen or heard of The Long Blondes but I am sold. I would most definitely like to see them live after reading this review.
March 22, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Lovely Princess,
Your critic is really good, i mean, the way you write, but come on, you are too indulgent!!
We’ve been at the same show but just saw 2 differents bands.
I can accept the lady (K.Jackson) is sexy, and sometimes sings in a good style, but what about the rest of the band ? They were like children on the stage, playing a game in a not very convincent way. They are simply not credible, specially the second guitar and the bass. If there are the future of rock, my god, we’re almost dead. I ust think about Jarvis concert some time ago and it looks like Jarvis was younger and more fresh than them !!!!
About lyrics, i’ll avoid any comments, as i’m not english speaker, so i wasn’t able to elucidate clearly K.J poetry. I’ll give her the presumption of inocence til be able to get a judgement.
I hope some tours, nightlife and experience will give the whole band more honest attitude….
See you in next concert
The Duke of Spaak