Live Review: Richard In Your Mind, The Fabergettes, Raindrops

Raindrop’s first song featured a sweet, psych-pop verse, then broke into a jammy krautrock bridge, which provided a canvas for some nifty guitar acrobatics, whilst their second tune played down the psych noodling in favour of a more straight alt-rock sound, reminiscent of a rougher Custard track. This versatility soon turned the pub chatter into background noise and reliably provided something fresh at every turn, and there were enough catchy vocal hooks dividing up the phaser-laden guitar jams that each change was exciting.

The Fabergettes provided peppy, garagey spunk-rock, perhaps similar to Velociraptor – with a little less chaos, natch, but melodies every bit as strong and classic. The main focus was on upbeat, ‘60s-style garage-pop, but there were splashes of variety throughout. A breakup song halfway through the set was genuinely pretty heartbreaking, showing off singer Nat Martin’s range, both melodically and emotionally. The band closed with new single, Ready To Go, which felt like maybe the purest distillation of their sound to date, thrashing along with crisp guitars and a mega-catchy chorus.

It was almost surprising to see such a world-class band playing at the Lansdowne Hotel, ostensibly a dankish student bar. However, Richard In Your Mind had pulled out all the stops to build atmosphere, bringing their own lighting and stage decorations, and putting together a seamless set that flowed perfectly from one song to the next.

A luscious backing of sitar and cymbal rolls welcomed the band onstage as smoke poured in around them. Soon after, the five-piece tore into a diverse set that ranged from stomping, four-on-the-floor faux-dance-punk, to the sweetly subtle four-part harmonies in Karma (Love Grows), proving that RIYM are more than just a psych band – they’re a force to be reckoned with. Their high-energy style provided plenty for those up the front, while audience members who sat back, sinking into armchairs, soaked up the sweetly dark melodies and lush, rich instrumentation.