When they first started out, LA band Music Go Music were said to be so ashamed of their somewhat Eurovision sounds that they were shrouded in mystery, not wanted to lose the 'serious rock artist' credibility they'd built up in main project 'Bodies of Water'. Of course, now pop is the coolest thing out there , they might as well forget any rock aspirations and fling all their love, time and effort into Music Go Music - especially as they're recently signed to a major label.
Last night, the ICA theatre was the venue for their first UK show. Plunging the audience into darkness, the stage was eventually lit to reveal a giant egg timer and a similarly large theatrical mask. As the band arrived, front lady Meredith Metcalf (in an amazing pink dress that featured hands) seemed so delighted to be there that we couldn't all help grinning insanely back to her. Not the obvious looking of bands, the hairy boys mainly looked as if they'd been found after many years in a physics laboratory, while the tambourine playing girls had a serenity that seemed likely to have come from a summer spent with Jesus in the mountains.
Their hippy vibes were quite perfect though to suit their sometimes manic, psychedelic music. Opening with the almost inhuman shrieks of 'I Walk Alone', gleeful 70s romp 'Light of Love' filled the room with a warm beam of happiness making everyone's feet start itching. While we love it to bits, we can see that some of you more prone to scratching your beards thoughtfully might find the sound a touch too Abba. Happily then, the wig out guitar solos of 'Reach Out' or 9 minute epic melodrama 'Warm In The Shadows' dreamy, mystical disco might warm your mean muso souls.
Sometimes going to see bands you don't know very well or at all can be boring. Music Go Music don't at all fit into this category. Go and see them at Club NME on Friday and while you might come out trampled by 17 year olds spilling beer on your nicest shirt, you'll also come out glowing with the kind of bliss that only music can sometimes give you. Go on, embrace the pop, we dare you.
Image by Anika
