Live at the Academy: The Strypes & Children Of The Son

Although still in their infancy, Co. Cavan teenage upstarts The Strypes have achieved at least one remarkable feat. For a new generation of kids, they’re the sharply dressed saviours of rock ‘n’ roll, bringing rhythm and blues back to the people. Meanwhile, they also function as a nostalgia machine through which middle-aged men (and occasionally women) can vicariously relive their wasted youth. All they have to do to become ginormously huge is to connect the two...

It’s mostly the kids who have packed out the Middle Abbey Street venue this evening, as The Strypes return home, pumped up and ready for action, following another successful jaunt across the Atlantic. What’s most notable tonight – as with their recent SXSW and Letterman performances – is that blues (the original core of their live shows) has become less central, and punk is very much in. The suits have become tighter, with splashes of colour here and there; an abundance of pins now adorn their blazers. Most curiously of all, there is much less sense of melody in their music.

Ross, Josh, Pete and Evan bang, strum, blow, squeal and howl relentlessly. The results vary. On the plus side, ‘What A Shame’, ‘Blue Collar Jane’ and Slim Harpo’s ‘Got Love If You Want It’ all build to superbly barnstorming finishes, with the gamey crowd lapping it all up, every harmonica blast and guitar riff greeted with fist pumps and cheers from an audience clearly revelling in the moment. Other high points include versions of The Special’s ‘Concrete Jungle’ and Nick Lowe’s ‘Heart Of The City’, which leads to the question: can The Strypes produce their own tunes up to this same standard?

The instrumental ability is there for sure: you won’t see many teenage bands tighter than these guys. Let’s hope they’re given the time and space to fully carve out their own identity on album number two. [JK]

Carving out their own identity certainly won’t be a problem for support act Children of the Son – who featured alongside The Strypes, as part of Ireland’s teenage brigade, on the cover of the 2014 Hot Press Yearbook. The corkscrew curls of the Matthews brothers are immediately recognisable. But it is the depth and quality of the band’s original songwriting which is especially impressive: ‘Colourblind’, the beautiful ballad ‘Broken’, string-laden new song ‘Long May Heaven’ and set-closer ‘Do You Really Want Me’ are outstanding. The sound on the night doesn’t always do them justice, on occasion burying Jack Matthews extraordinary voice when it should soar. But they exude the confidence of winners and – with guitar maestro Max clambering exuberantly onto amps, Art Matthews and drummer Rob Kennedy keeping it tight in the engine room, and Jack leaping Bono-style into the audience – they create a wave of euphoria that spreads through the Academy. By the end, they have the crowd in the palms of their hands: as it should be... [NS]