Lunchband @ The Jolly Brewer

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There’s been a lot of indie bands which have sprouted around the UK after bands such as the Arctic Monkeys exploded on to the scene seven years ago. With the amount of indie bands around, it takes something extra special or different to stand out from the crowd—something unique.

On live evidence, London quartet Lunchband have the potential to be that something.

I was cold, wet and miserable when I got to the Jolly Brewer in Lincoln after trudging through the wind and rain to get there. It didn’t take long to warm up and dry off though because as soon as the first band hit the stage, the place throbbed with excitement. The Unknown Stuntmen were the support act for the night—a five-piece band who seemed to mix a number of genres, creating an exciting blend of music which kept the audience captivated. To put it in their own words:

“The Unknown Stuntmen are a collection of pirates that picked up an instrument each, tuned their vocal strings and set sail for anywhere that would have em”.

Their mixture of pop, folk and rock ‘n’ roll, with a hint of Spanish guitar playing, was a recipe for success with the audience either watching attentively or dancing the night away.

With three vocalists in the band, two males and one female, there’s a good variety in their sound with their voices and harmony’s complimenting each other nicely. I caught up with the rhythm guitarist, Dave, after their show to find out a little more about the band. He described them as being influenced by “anything with a good melody” and cited artists such as “The Beatles” and “Beethoven” as major influences. By being influenced by such popular and respected musicians as these, it’s easy to see why the audience took so kindly to the The Unknown Stuntmen.

Cover art for Lunchband's EP: Rabbits, Princes, Phantom's & Beaches

Cover art for Lunchband’s EP: Rabbits, Princes, Phantom’s & Beaches

In the interval, after everyone had topped their beers up, the crowd started to gather in anticipation for the headline act of the night, Lunchband. Lunchband are a four-piece act from London but many of the band members originate from Lincoln. This made the show that little bit more special for the band and it shone through in their performance. Mixing indie, electronica and folk rock together, the band create a signature sound which is very appealing to both old and young. Listening to them, you can see they’ve been influenced by popular mainstream indie acts of today, such as Arcade Fire, but there’s also some 60’s rock in there in the shape of the Kinks.

The band played songs off their EP which was released earlier this year in July called Rabbits, Princes, Phantom’s & Beaches. The song Rabbit Run is a very easy listening song with a catchy guitar melody layered over the top of a nice chord sequence. My Prince has a strong, bouncy bass line similar to that from the Killer’s song, Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine. Throughout the set, lots of the bands influences shine through ranging from indie band Foals to 80’s electronic band, Depeche Mode. The band do a great job of knitting their influences sounds together to create their own brand of music, which stands out from most of the other indie bands around at the moment.

Lunchband are an interesting band with bags of potential. The gig was billed as Lunchband’s ‘homecoming gig’. I expect that there were a lot of people in the Jolly Brewer last night who will be eagerly counting down the days until Lunchband next come ‘home’.

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