Even though he dresses like a walking jumble sale and his between-song mutterings resemble a Colin Farrell parody, it’s difficult not to warm to Mick Pyro when he’s dropping the mic, crap-moonwalking or seeking “reassurance” from the audience about the quality of his band’s new material.
Republic Of Loose are previewing songs from their forthcoming album over a month of Fridays at The Academy, and it’s the album’s lead single that promises most. ‘I Like Music’ is built around a densely layered vocal loop, and Pyro’s weather beaten, soulful croak fits the song’s bar-talk narrative perfectly. Of the other newbies aired, ‘Got’ is a sort of list-rant (“Got no booze, got no cocaine”) as is ‘Things I Don’t Like’, in which the singer lists… er, things he doesn’t like.
Proving they’re no fools, they offer eventual rewards for facing the "all-new material" challenge. They introduce Jape for an ROL-ified ‘Floating’ but it’s the performance of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ by Sinéad O’Connor that's likely to linger longest in the memories of those in attendance. It’s a rare moment of plaintive reflection in a show that's otherwise heavily slanted in favour of fun and frolics.
Quite simply, ROL are a band who like to let the good times roll. To judge by this impressive performance, it’s an approach that’s paying dividends.