Live Review: Little Green Cars @ Whelan's

A pair of back-to-back sold-out shows is grist to the mill these days for LGC – playing the long game has borne fruit in more ways than one. But building a loyal following over two albums has stood to them in spades and the excitement and anticipation among those in attendance is well in evidence. (The pre-show PA tracks included such gems Rick Springfield’s ‘Jesse’s Girl’, Fleetwood Mac’s, ‘Little Lies’ and The Beach Boys’ ‘Good Vibrations’ – perhaps giving a clue to where their true inspirations lie.)

The five-piece take to the stage unceremoniously and launch into a set that is immediately impressive in every respect. The live sound and mix is near-perfect while their almost too mannerly stage persona is refreshingly affecting, with each song introduced politely with the odd joke thrown in. The emphasis is on tunes from the latest album Ephemera with the yearning, dreamy folk of, ‘The Song They Play Every Night’ (which faintly recalls Belle & Sebastian) contrasting with the almost metronomic funk of, ‘Good Women Do’. There’s near silence in the venue when the vamped piano begins and Faye O'Rourke takes to the microphone for the impressively quirky, ‘OK OK OK’. In contrast, the chugging head-rush of ‘Clair De Lune’ - another recent song - has a Cure-like drone betraying an ‘80s influence.

There’s room for earlier material too. The harmonies take flight on long-time favourite ‘The John Wayne’, the thumping rhythms and massed vocal textures combine to almost hypnotic effect, while the rousing ‘Harper Lee’ - another clear crowd-pleaser - has the masses singing along unselfconsciously. Chiming, jangling guitars and an ambitious vocal arrangement mark, ‘Easier Day’ as another highlight but it’s on the exquisitely-wrought ballad ‘Winds Of Peace’, a languid slice of alt. Americana with a clear Band influence (‘Whispering Pines’) where their strengths truly shine through.

Check out our photos from Little Green Cars' performance here.