Isobel Lim from The Indecisives. Studio 2, Parr Street. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Liverpool Sound and Vision rating 7/10
To sit in a venue and watch any number of bands or seasoned solo musicians ply their trade, thrill a crowd and look pristine throughout is something that any of us can take for granted. Sometimes though we forget where the musicians start out from, the nerves of debut or even 50th gig still thundering round their instruments and still fresh as the hour after a storm abates.
For The Indecisives, to be at Studio 2 on Parr Street for only their second gig together is a big moment. True, guitarist Vanessa Murray has been a long standing plus on the Liverpool circuit for a long time and she never shies away from a good fight but still, this is a new band and they deserve a huge round of applause for their set as part of the Strings and Things evening.
With this latest band to hit the Liverpool streets Isabel Lim on keyboard, Robin Wilkinson on bass and Reece Cairns joining Ms. Murray on stage, the scene was set for a great introduction, the first tentative handshake and shy nervous smile as the opened up the evening on a warm June day.
The nerves may have been evident but that is no bad thing when starting out on a new venture and in their opening tracks, Escape and Recharging, The Indecisives felt their way round the songs, nursing them, fostering the moment and making the most of this experience. What was to come though was worth the nurturing start.
It is one of the most beautiful songs recorded by Fleetwood Mac and indeed perhaps throughout the history of popular music in the 20th Century but Songbird is notoriously hard to cover. Not because the delicacy of the keys require expert handling, not because the vocals are distinct and clearly of Christine McVie but just because the song has so much personality weaving through it, from start to finish it is a song of absolute emotion and latent feminine energy.
It is a song that few can really carry off with any sense of style or purpose and so few really try to get to grips with. For The Indecisives and especially Vanessa Murray, it was a baptism of fire for their second ever gig. To endeavour to capture the intensity of Christine McVie but remaining much your own person is a challenge and, despite it being such an awkward beautiful beast to tame, Vanessa Murray gave it all and her voice framed something unexpected, something slightly stormy, the image of a destructive, yet handsomely thrilling squall bursting at the edge of the sea and knocking at the door of the town with pregnant clamour. It was different and it was good.
This new foursome finished their set with a cracking number by the name of Paranoia, a track that at some point everyone can identify with.
Even though this was only the band’s second ever gig, they had something. It may be rough round the edges, it may take time in which to come together and become as good as they can be but they didn’t let themselves down in their performance and should be congratulated for adding a new layer to the rich vein created by the tempest of young Liverpool musicians.
Ian D. Hall