Photo by Elisabeth Isles
George Mitchell, singer of Leeds post-punkers Eagulls, has definitely got the whole brooding, emotive frontman thing down pat. In fact, anybody who missed out on The Cure’s headlining set at Bestival the night before would have found a reasonable replacement for Robert Smith and co. in Eagulls’ performance on Monday night at The Horseshoe – vocally, Mitchell is practically a dead ringer for Smith.
While we’re on the subject of brooding, Eagulls’ new material off of their recently released second album Ullages has a moodier vibe than the more aggressive sounds of their debut. It’s definitely more of a slow burn, which, while effective on album, makes for a slightly less dynamic live show – whenever an older song did make an appearance in the set, it popped a bit more in comparison. Still, despite any misgivings, the band put on a decent show, though I will admit to getting a tad bored towards the end of of their set. That may just be my preference for their first album coming through, but perhaps others were feeling the same way too.
“Enjoy the silence,” said Mitchell at one point and while I thought for a moment they were about to play a Depeche Mode cover (they weren’t), he may have also been taking a shot at the audience for not being appreciative enough. Maybe the band just needs to give us something more to get excited about.