Words & Photos: Ed Fry
★★★★☆
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Off the back of a Summer that saw sundayclub release their self-titled debut album, Courtney Carmichael, Nikki St. Pierre, & co. headed to the UK from Winnipeg, Canada, for a short tour to show off their hazy, shoegaze pop. Sadly, we caught them on the last night of their tour, but get listening to their album, which includes FOMO-reviewed single “Blue Wave”, as I’m sure they’ll be returning to our shores.
Photo: Ed Fry
Their stage setup was reminiscent of how I imagine they created their album; dark, with striking lights, hazy, and accompanied by huge pedal boards. This evening sundayclub opened for Bottle Rockets at The Lanes in Bristol.
The Lanes is a boutique bowling alley-cum-venue. The nostalgia-filled sound of crashing pins in the next room was soon replaced with sundayclub’s equally wistful wash of cymbals and guitars. Opening with the album’s intro ‘Tune In’ before heading straight into ‘Camera Shy’. This is sundayclub’s instantly recognisable lead single, with guitarist Nikki St. Pierre’s gliding riffs and Courtney Carmichael’s delay-filled vocals on top.
Despite the laid-back sound of their record, sundayclub come out swinging with the live incarnations of their tracks. This, coupled with St. Pierre’s high energy guitar playing and Carmichael’s striking red hair flicking back and forth, takes their album to new levels and they certainly hit their stride in the middle of the set. The room was almost full for the openers by the time they launched into ‘Sad Summer’, and ‘Bannatyne’. These tracks let them pick up the pace with pounding drums, chimey guitars, and thumping basslines holding them together, while ‘Lombard’ and ‘Corydon Ave’ gave some ebb to the flow of their set.
For an opening act, sundayclub managed to squeeze in almost half their catalogue, but their set wouldn’t be complete without the up-tempo, anthemic ‘Blue Wave’. This shimmering single encompasses what their live performance is all about. Pushing and pulling with slow, ethereal breaks that allow Carmichael's voice to soar, before cascading into the super-catchy chorus the track’s built around.
I’d highly recommend catching sundayclub live, though they took a moment to settle. The band had a slightly more relaxed feel for some of the middle songs, they tightened up for the closers. I’m excited to see what’s in store next time sundayclub tour, having had more than a summer to hone these tracks for the stage.