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Review: Jackson and the Spangles, Last Action Hero + Suicide Party @ The Railway

Suicide Party kick the night off in hostile fashion, causing plenty of tension and an air of arrogance that the set suffers for. It’s a shame they didn’t get off to the best start; some of their post punk sounds are worth a listen and they strike through plenty of abrasive garage rock. A self-described ‘death surf’ band, despite some great moments, their own brand of unnecessarily angsty, teenage-grunge should be left in the past.

Southampton Boy, Matt Bromley brings spirits up with plenty of dirty beats and electro sounds from his one-man show. Calling himself Last Action Hero, his musical creativity is so immensely captivating it’s difficult to believe it’s all just a solo project. He uses looping synths to build up layers of crazy sound, before adding a touch of guitar and topping it with his cryptic lyrics. The piercing electronics are technical and provide plenty of stage personality, ‘Sex Me Here’ in particular. An infectious tune, that’s clearly a crowd favourite, for its danceable beat and seductive vocals; pretty exceptional from just one person.

Jackson and the Spangles are top of the bill for tonight and they have served it well with one of their best performances yet.  Full band in tow, they’ve added choir singers, a trumpet and a saxophonist to create a soulful and smoothly, professional sound. The essence of their music comes from relationships and world troubles, all put together with plenty of summer spirit and classic melodies.

With an album on the way, the boys have worked to progress the set; rolling on with ‘Be First’ there’s a switch from drum machine to drum kit to fill out their sound and reference to a Martin Luther King Speech for a heroic touch. ‘In The Background’ is a fun tune, grounded in disco and funk that gives an transferable lease of energy, whereas ‘Soul Mate’ is the set stonker with its big chorus, built from love and regret , with funky sax and an attention grabbing sing along that halts the instruments.

One of their greatest features is the ability to keep the set fast paced, with barely any breaks, and everything flowing. There’s no opportunity for the audience to lose energy. Bringing eight people to the stage, all enjoying every second of it, leaves their sound exciting and intense, with song writing that’s profoundly influenced. It’s clear they’ve worked to build their music into more than just the average band and it’s gained them a local following. Their style has clearly successfully matured through the extra instrument elements and the depth of the choir based harmonies.