Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The amount of music venues that can be considered as iconic, of capturing a slice of time in such a way that they are undeniably written into the fabric of the art and the city or town that they inhabit, is unfortunately diminishing. This is mainly down to the commercial forces and greed of landlords who see the chance to turn the land the building stands upon into a place where the pounds and pennies are counted in their millions, rather than the change it might make by Dreaming The Impossible to which many a young band can seize the future with both hands.

Such is the sense of belonging that The Loft Club prescribe in their debut album, Dreaming The Impossible, that it wouldn’t be out of place for it to have been played on a Saturday night inside possibly one of the most famous venues in the country, The Cavern, to rapturous applause, to platitudes and memories; for in the sense of the sound, the Power Pop and delicious, if not meant then certainly enjoyed, homage to a wide range of Beatles tracks and others of the Merseyside golden era.

Daniel Schamroth, Jamie Whyte, Kieran Chalmers, Josie Stoneman and Sam Piper have not only gone into the studio armed to the teeth with interaction in mind, with the idea of hunting down a sound which is classic and accessible, but also one which captivates the mind, makes the half ear turned in their direction, focus completely on the strength of the piece, and it is strong, so much so that across songs such as Heard Her Say, I’m Just A Man, Keep Me Coming Home, Made In England, Baby You’ll Be Fine and finale of Flicker, which features a generous backing vocal by Lisa Loeb, The Loft Club have laid down a flourishing and dynamic sound as they embark on the journey of studio output with the flex of muscles you see on young body builders.

A debut album that has the ambition and the goal in its sight, it has made Dreaming The Impossible a reality.

The Loft Club’s Dreaming The Impossible is out now.

Ian D. Hall