Katy McGrath of Late Night Oil at District for Hope Fest 2015. Photograph by Lis Garrett. Photograph used with kind permission by Lis Garrett.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

When there are no more Yokos left, it could set a dangerous situation spiralling out of control, for when the ethereal Muse departs the world and the shadow of disappointing average song is allowed to fester, the world will surely crumble into a artistic dust…whilst bands like Late Night Oil are around though, showing the way by whatever means of solid illumination is possible, the Muse will always have something to consider worth enjoying and to be seen dancing, swaying and rocking out to in the full glare of the un-dampened stage light.

No more is the Yoko, but the Muse exists and is to be revelled in as Late Night Oil took the stage at District as part of Hope Fest and grabbed the attention fully with their quality of sound, grasping yearning lyrics in which the desire was raised and the spectacle of seeing Colin Hutch, Dominic William and Matt Deaves join forces with the extraordinary Katy McGrath.

To hear Katy McGrath on her own playing acoustically is bordering on the word special, an outlaying of time to which the day just demands to be part of a group taking in a performer ready to go the full musical distance with you; as part of Late Night Oil she lays the audience with a deft punch, with a knock out so cool the bruise on the heart is one to show off and be admired for. This though is only possible for the strong feeling of togetherness breeding at the heart of the full electric band and especially in the shared vocals with Colin Hutch.

This may have only been the fourth major outing for the band but already the signs are that the Muse has settled in to be enthralled for a long time and in songs such as Deaf Ears, the superb Shoe Shine, Moral Fibre and the abundant set closer Menace, any pondering that the Muse may have been scoring up in her head was more than fulfilled and the radiance of the evening just kept giving.

Late Night Oil is an act of selfless indulgence, one that all at some point soon should be urged to act upon and partake in. Excellent stuff!

Ian D. Hall