Spector look and sound every bit the polished indie rock band they are, and they haven’t even released their debut album yet. Building up a following after supporting Florence + The Machine on the March 2012 tour, fans have begun adopting their ultra-hip style: high-buttoned shirts, slick blazers, and trendy haircuts. It certainly was the dress-code in Whelan’s last Tuesday for their first Irish headlining gig.
The Londoners sashay on-stage and lead singer Fred MacPherson bellows out “Hello Dublin!” as though he was at the O2 arena instead of the intimate surroundings of Whelan’s. Spector have managed to become famous before they’re famous, groomed and ready for the limelight. They kick off the show with ‘What You Wanted’ and it strikes me how well put together it is; tight and note-perfect, it sounds just like listening to the album.
MacPherson is a born front-man; brimming with energy, singing his heart out and telling anecdotes and jokes between every song. However they verge on the tasteless from time-to-time: “I’d like to dedicate this song to Chris’ dead aunt.. she died today”, or “We saw the statue of that black guy from Boomtown Rats and the tree where that girl from B*witched hung herself”, all the while with an air of pretension that makes it difficult to warm to the band completely. In saying that, the crowd are on their side. Teenage girls at the back shout, “We love you! Take your clothes off!” While others have banners: An unusual reception for a band who’ve been around for less than a year, that’s certainly intriguing.
They go on to play ‘Friday Night’ and their current single ‘Celestine’, again sounding as polished as the album, which took six months and seven producers to make. Their songs are big and catchy, the lyrics have depth and each track sounds like a potential hit. MacPherson has said of the album that “it evolved into the most exhilarating outlet for the bi-products of romance, heartbreak, nostalgia, and social monotony.” It’s obvious that the group are perfectionists about everything from their music to their image, and it’s paying off.
When it's time for their best-known track ‘Chevy Thunder’, something very strange happens! There’s been a running joke on a local radio station that whenever the song is played they change the chorus to “Hairy Panda”. Spector get wind of this through Twitter, and decide to sing half the song with the new lyrics. While some of the crowd are in on the joke, others aren't, and it seems as though the song is hijacked. Those who are waiting to hear ‘Chevy Thunder’ in all its glory must be disappointed with this messy version. There's too much going on, and some of the band members look unhappy with their song being turned into a joke. They make a gag at the end about giving a one-euro refund to disappointed fans. Chevy Blunder!
Overall, Spector are an impressive band with a solid fanbase and a good collection of songs. It looks as though they’re going places, and fast. Aside from the pepperings of OTT banter, they put on a brilliantly energetic live show.