LUCKY, the recent EP by Life Model, is earning the Glasgow-based fourpiece some deserved attention. Guitars shimmer with Cocteau Twins gorgeousness while its blissful dynamics recall the ebbs and surges of Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream album. In Sophie Evans they have a charismatic frontwoman, her gossamer vocals lovelorn but somehow sassy too. This is oozy pop made for that state between wake and sleep, an attractive place to be when the world’s going haywire.
“I think the EP is a bit more direct than a lot of our previous stuff,” says Smith, who admits the band have largely been “under the radar” for much of their five-year history. “We’ve done more shoegazey stuff, all drenched in reverb, whereas this is more direct, more melodic. I don’t think this has been deliberate, it’s just how we’ve developed naturally.”
After having been in a band where “it wasn’t fun any more”, Smith issued an online call for collaborators. United by an affection for the likes of Sonic Youth, Blur and Ride, drummer Michael McDonald and bassist Joanne McCafferty joined almost immediately, with Evans following a few months later when she moved from Newcastle to study.
“At the time I was listening to a lot of Blur and Sonic Youth a bit of Smashing Pumpkins, Ride,” he says. “When it was just me, Michael and Joanne, our sound came together fairly quickly because they like the same sort of stuff. Then when Sophie came in, she brought more of an indie pop sensibility — she’s a huge fan of things like The Sundays and Belle and Sebastian.”
“The first time we all met, she had written the lyrics for a couple of songs, and we were a match made in heaven straight away,” he smiles. “It was a sense of: ‘this is the sort of music we really enjoy playing, we want to play this’.”
Being under the radar doesn’t necessary mean a band lacks talent or tunes. Sometimes — perfectly validly — there are priorities other than exposure.
“Having fun, enjoying what we do is really what we’re about,” says Smith. “I guess we’re the biggest fans of our own music, and we’re the best of friends outside the band too. It’s genuinely quite lovely.”
Aug 31 (with Tigercats and Fuzzystar) Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, 7pm, £7. Tickets from bit.ly/LifeModelPetes Sep 8 (with Living Body, Chrissy Barnacle and Rev Magnetic), Hug and Pint, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £7.50. Tickets from bit.ly/LifeModelHug Sep 16 (with Mt.Doubt and ACRYLIC) 13th Note, Glasgow, details TBC.
www.facebook.com/LifeModelMusic
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