The Sly are making waves under most radars in Manchester. Their debut headline show at Gullivers sold out in minutes and tonight they've filled the Deaf Institute in what feels like a statement of intent. With Levon Gill at the helm on lead vocals and drums, a rare combination, they eschew the traditional guitar anthem sound of Manchester three-pieces and take us on a darker deeper journey. Support came from the excellent Sugar Tax and Poor Effort, three great bands for the ridiculously low £7 ticket price.
Poor Effort open up the night and like the headliners their approach isn't a traditional one. Starting and finishing with spoken word pieces from Matty Dagger over the other three musicians creating a sonic landscape for the recitals, it's a sound that needs your attention to fully appreciate the observations around life in northern town and cities. Mid-set they veer off into more instrumental noise-heavy territory that's equally as fascinating and even less traditionally song-based. As the venue fills up the audience find themselves increasingly drawn in.
Sugar Tax are next up, only their second gig in Manchester, but the London five-piece leave a really indelible mark. With three of them up front sharing vocals, they race through ten songs in their thirty minute slot, an effervescent in your face onslaught that has both moments of beauty and raw noise, often packaged up within the same song. The Manchester audience, the room now full, fall for them and the energy they transmit. Definitely a band to keep an eye on.
The Sly take to the stage like hometown heroes. Levon prowls the stage whipping up the audience's response before he's even sat behind his drum kit. Whilst his personality dominates, once they start playing the three-piece come into their own. Elijah on guitar and Christian on bass are every bit a part of the sprawling sonic pieces that The Sly create. They go from full-on walls of sound to subtle almost not there moments where everything drops down to just a tapped cymbal in the blink of an eye before kicking back in, the three of them locked in together in perfect unison.
Traditional song patterns are thrown out of the window, choruses ditched for less conventional sprawling bold structures as Levon masters the dual tasks of beating the living daylights out of his kit with delivering vocals with the same energy. The crowd, save for the usual few talkers that can't shut up in the quiet parts, are enraptured by them, the front rows dancing lost in the music, the rest stood soaking in the magic. They're barely on stage half an hour but it's enough to confirm the very special talent of the band.
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