Black Soul Strangers at Death Disco

You know when you’re in an intimate space when you meet the lead singer of a band coming out of the toilets. In this case it was Barry Gorey, frontman of Black Soul Strangers, a band on the rise thanks to their heartfelt, taut melodies that have seen them compared to bands like The National and Elbow.

They were delayed by a few technical hitches but once these were sorted out it was into their opener of Wichita, a pounding and rousing anthem, which got the smallish crowd at Death Disco in the Notting Hill Arts Club feeling the urge to become ever more animated as the song went on.

Although a new band, Black Soul Strangers certainly displayed a burgeoning craft about how to develop a song. Both Leave and Lies crescendoed and gathered a rolling momentum that was well controlled rather than a hectic blur of strummed chords and unwieldy bombast. Your Hero saw Philip Wyer, the guitarist and synth player, provide a different inflection to the dominance of the guitar with an electronic fade.

It is clear that Black Soul Strangers are a new band as, although they are popular with the audience, hardly anyone in the crowd was singing along, such was their unfamiliarity with the band’s lyrics. That all changed with the announcement that they were soon to play The Haunting. Given that it is the song that has been all over the radio, it drew the loudest cheer of the night. It certainly seemed that it was the song that the band are most proud of as they gave their most accomplished performance of the night.

Gorey’s voice was clearer than ever, insistent as the chorus grew and grew. It became apparent that the crowd were enraptured with the band and Gorey in particular as he wound and stomped through the heights and troughs of the song. After an exultant finish they moved onto Panic Sets Direction, which lacked a little potency after the rousing fervour of the previous tune. The band finished with You Don’t Need It before thanking the crowd and leaving the stage.

Black Soul Strangers seem to have everything in place for success. They’re musically competent with radio-friendly songs, and from what I saw earlier in the night, their lead singer keeps a high standard of hygiene. He’s a washer, not a walker.

Black Soul Strangers played on July 28 at:

Notting Hill Arts Club
19-21 Notting Hill Gate
Notting Hill
W11 3JQ

Tel: 020 7460 4459