Lightships: Scottish supergroup debuts at the CCA

 

This was brilliant. I’d never been to a gig at the CCA before and it was one of the most claustrophobic venues I’ve ever visited, but it was a great place to be once Lightships took to the stage. I’ve seen Teenage Fanclub five times over the years and have found that audiences tend to talk over their more atmospheric material, so I appreciated the chance to watch Gerry Love perform before a respectful public. The show was so good that it cured me of a particularly unpleasant cold. To give you an idea of how bad my cold was, it had kept me off work for the day while rendering me too weary to compile an intimidating and comprehensive list of 'do's and don'ts' aimed at anyone due to hang out with me for the first time.

Note when reading the review that I don't have much to say about the event itself, it was just really, really good. Instead, I focus my attention on Love's apparent meekness and the new album. This makes me sort of a reviewing jerk, but I think it reads pretty well and puts all the necessary information across.

Lightships

CCA, Glasgow

4/5/12

****

Gerard Love is among the most reticent men in pop, to the extent that his appearances as one third of Teenage Fanclub's song-writing core frequently call to mind a self-help group for musicians with low self-esteem. If the project's press release is to be believed, he had to be cajoled into writing and recording Lightships' debut by an infatuated record label and various industry well-wishers. Tonight we find him queueing to gain admission to his own gig.

Electric Cables, a Love solo album in all but name, is the first full-length release devoted exclusively to the Fanny's own material. Not only does it sustain the high levels of quality for which his past work is renowned, but it proves him to be an astonishingly gifted all-rounder. His songwriting is more personal and distinctive than ever, while his dense arrangements are complimented by the lightness and ephemeral qualities of his production work. If ever there was an album to get lost in, this is it.

Backed by a Scottish supergroup comprising assorted Fanclub, Pastels and Belle & Sebastian members, Love treats the project's maiden live date as an opportunity to air his opus in its entirety. Adhering to its running order and tacking on only a pair of covers at the end (Moondog's 'Do Your Thing' and Neil Young's 'Lotta Love'), there are little in the way of surprises tonight. Instead, the warmth and immediacy of the performance ensures that the sell-out crowd remain in thrall to the singer as he grows increasingly comfortable with his role as frontman. An auspicious introduction by all accounts, we just hope that the applause doesn't go to his head.

Lewis Porteous