Beautiful, melancholic yet extremely full of hope.
With their debut ep scheduled before the end of the year, one of Glasgow's best kept secrets, The State Broadcasters may not be a secret for much longer, particularly now that they are starting to get themselves some decent support slots in front of new crowds. Tonight was another opportunity for the band to spread the word and if the quality of their set was anything to go by, their fan base will be growing weekly.
It's funny when you find a new band worth caring about that the first track you really like by them always remains a great experience to hear no matter the occasion and the only disappointment of the set was that 'My Binoculars' opened proceedings. The songs that followed it are as equally as good but it would have been nice to have it a little later. As for the song itself, it's a winsome classic tale of ex-love held together by fragile vocals and some beautiful musical accompaniment. Alongside the guitar strum, the xylophone tinkles and the keyboard refrains, the band were joined by the equally talented Jolene Crawford from Glasgow act Finniston, further augmenting the sound sweetly. With a support act only having so much time to impress, there's no better time for band to make a first impression than with their first song, and the Broadies clearly did that.
The set contained many great moments and although the band does have a sound that is based in folk and Americana, there is a lot of variety in the songs. Although 'Christopher's Gone' may have a melancholic feel, the guitar strum manages to strut around rather and the harmonica has a vibrant feel that prevents the song from becoming too sad, and adding to the sense that even in sadness, there lies some hope.
And one major cause of hope for The State Broadcasters lies in the talents of their many members. Lead singer Graeme Black not only has an excellent delivery and phrasing but his storytelling is simple yet greatly effective. With the instrumental side augmented by Pete McDonald who as well as providing the aforementioned piano and harmonica sounds, also adds trombone to some of the larger sounding songs. Fergus McDonald may hold the guitar line steady all night but another major boon for the band lies in Gill Fleetwood, with extremely strong vocals that at times threaten to steal the show, glockenspiel and clarsach (which was assumed to be just a harp but reputably there is a difference.) The sight of this instrument on stage immediately informs the crowd that this is no ordinary, run of the mill band and the many elements that each individual brings stands them out as a band on their own.
And such is the problem of support slots that it seems that the band has only just got on stage, when they appear to be shuffling off-stage. With a song like 'Takeshi' having such a soft and almost mournful drift to it and the trombones lament sounding rather poignant, it may be easy to believe that the band are down on life but merely watching their reaction and smiles on stage emphasises that this a band greatly enjoying themselves and that transfers across to the crowd.
With a dedication going out to the Scottish team that had only just defeated the French at football, it was clearly a day to be heralding Scottish heroes and having some pride in local achievements. The State Broadcasters were in no way out of place on such a day.