Psicle: The Early Mornings

Sunday, September 24, 2023

The Early Mornings

Having spent our anniversary afternoon at Dulwich Hamlet, on my own, I'm in an upbeat mood as we won 2 nil. Admittedly against the bottom side who have no points after 6 games (before this one) and who were relegated with Hamlet last season. Both relegated clubs have had a terrible start to the season. Anyway, I cycle home with a spring in my cadence to celebrate our anniversary with a couple of drinks and baked spuds before Debbie and I cycle up to the Windmill. We are given a tequila shot on entry which is very civilised and say happy anniversary to Pete and Wendy, yes it's the same day as ours. The first band come on to an empty venue except for us four sitting at the table next to the regulars table. Very depressing. Warm Air Curtain are a duo with drums and a guy playing a double bass and synths. Thankfully quite a few come in from the garden, where they've all been hiding, and fill the floor as the bassist switches to an electric bass. Their music is a bit too ambient for my liking and whilst there are a few bits of interesting electronics I'm not grabbed. Their crowd liked it though which is probably better than my judgement. We do our usual of getting fresh air between bands and catching up as it's been a while we've all been together. Next are Sounds Mint who deliver a punky set reminiscent of the post punk punky festival bands but with a modern twist. They are energetic especially the singer and sound great. Get the crowd going too with a mosh pit which is then ordered to split by the singer. Whilst I enjoyed them they did sound a little derivative and a bit too rock for my current eclectic tastes. The Early Mornings we saw a year ago here and I'm eager to see how they've progressed. Last review was that they "...are a trio and great musicians. The bassist is fabulous running up and down the neck and I think playing chords at some stages. Sounded like it or maybe he was just very very fast. They flitted across genres from a Raincoats like post punk to a funky Stone Roses style with a bit of indie angst thrown in. Some hard guitar riffs too. Drummer kept the two guitarists honest." That is still about the size of it although tonight they have an edgy slant as if they've been listening to a lot of mid to late 70s New York new wave like Talking Heads and their ilk. So a great addition to the sound. The bassist plays right at the base of the neck sounding almost lead guitar at times whilst the guitarist is just spot on with rhythm, jerky chords or plain old rock riffs. Great vocals too with a couldn't care less attitude. One of the better bands I've seen in the last year. Must go see them again. The rest of the crowd loved them too. Headliners are Curser who Pete and Wendy miss as they've a long trek back east. Curser we also saw a year ago when I was pulled into their mosh pit. Yes they are hard and punky and whilst Debbie and I enjoyed them they did start to sound a bit stadiumish and after the quirkiness of The Early Mornings I was more in the mood for The Raincoats than Green Day. It's way past midnight, indeed the early morning, we've drunk enough and Debbie has an early start so we sneak out before the end leaving the kids to party and cycle home.