If you are reading this, then you probably know a bit about The Hoosiers and you don’t need me to tell you that they are resilient.
Firstly, because they have been around for over 20 years – forming in Indianapolis in 2003 and picking up and then losing a few band mates along the way. Secondly, because they are not afraid to make music that, rather than sounding of its time, owes a lot to past decades … in fact their first single – Worried About Ray – took so much inspiration from The Turtles hit Happy Together that the members of the Turtles were named as co writers. Lastly, because immediately following their most commercially successful album – The Trick of Life – they were given the title of Worst Band at the 2008 NME Awards.
Since then, they have continued, undeterred, to tour and to make albums, having released their sixth – Compassion – just last week.
This new release continues the magpie-like habit of the Hoosiers to take inspiration from some of the best feel-good pop, dance and electronica of the last 50 years, with songs that explore themes of desire, self love, bravado and vulnerability.
Tonight’s gig, in collaboration with Crash Records, is the final date in an 11-day record shop tour where you can get an album and a gig ticket bundle. It’s very stripped back and intimate and – with no support acts – the audience really knows what to expect.
About an hour after the doors open, lead vocalist and silver fox, Irwin Sparkes, takes the stage in t-shirt, terracotta trousers and converse low tops, playing his eye-catching brightly coloured guitar with a geometric pattern.
He starts the show with a short version of new song So High which on the album sounds like one of the poppier tracks by Daft Punk on the record. Today it’s pared back to vocals and guitar – slow, echoing and almost mournful – in stark contrast to the self-confident, insistent tone of the recorded version.
The solo act continues a track from their first album called A Sadness Runs Through Him … It makes me think: ‘Has something happened?’ ‘Has the other Hoosier decided to have a duvet day and go home before the end of the tour?’ At just that moment, he appears, a little hunched so that his mid length hair grazes his shoulders, wearing a Pie & Vinyl t-shirt (referencing an earlier venue in the tour) and light blue stonewashed jeans.
Sitting between a Roland keyboard and drum machine, Alan ‘Alphonso’ Sharland quips, in a leisurely way, that their pre-gig ritual used to be a few beers and now it’s a double nap … before they play another early song – Cops and Robbers – that touches on societal divisions.
They are keen to stress that the new album means a lot to them and that the central message is “Be kind to yourselves, be kind to each other… People are so divided and if only we could scale that gap and meet in the middle a little more.” With this said, they play Sleeping With The Light On, which asks the listener for understanding with lyrics like “so I don’t get my heart broken, I sleep with one eye open.”
“This is a record store tour so I don’t know what we are doing here but it’s an absolute joy…” Alan ‘Alphonso’ Sharland.
Having said how amazing the venue is and how familiar members of the audience appear, Irwin surprises the crowd with a cover version of Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club. It feels a particularly apt choice, inspired by discovering a venue that makes you feel completely comfortable to be yourself. And straight afterward Irwin announces it is now time for an intermission, with a little gag of pretending to play a tape cassette in the background.
They have brought a sound engineer – Lewis – with them, who pretends he is having difficulty getting the tape to play… or maybe he is having a hard time. Frankly, it is hard to say… whether it is a tech problem or a joke which, for me, doesn’t quite land. Nevertheless, it is clear the crowd are gently rooting for them.
Alphonso hops over the edge of the stage and gets a couple of pints at the bar. Irwin follows – stretching the cable attached to his microphone to the outer edge of the audience and casually chatting before launching into another new song Don’t Hang Your Head. Sung side by side with members of the audience, the lyrics including “you’re not the one to blame, you will learn to live again I promise you,” come across as sincere and heartfelt. You are usually quite safe from the attention of a band when you are standing in the middle of the crowd – but not at this particular moment!
After the duo return to the stage, most people are coaxed into clapping along to another new song Lonely Together and then their first single Worried About Ray gets a singalong going.
Whilst it has been hard tonight to create some of the sounds on the new record, Jigsaw Heart – a 1980s style pop banger – comes really close to creating an infectious big sound.
It is followed by Goodbye Mr A, an early single and synth pop hit that reminds me strongly of the 1970s hits of ELO.
With that, Irwin and Alphonso have finished playing and dance triumphantly across the stage as the sound of All Night Long by Lionel Ritchie fills the room.
After many songs that touched on human frailty and the vulnerability of expressing love and your own needs, this is a great feel-good ending to the performance.
Overall it’s been a satisfying evening, where The Hoosiers have clearly got the message that they should play us their hit songs as well as fresh material, but without taking themselves too seriously.
There’s also been a feeling of compassion for the Hoosiers, and their efforts to create their own Pink Pony Club, welcoming whoever wants to join them… But it’s not quite the end of the night for the band, who are straight off the stage to their merch stand to meet with anyone who fancies a chat.
If you would like to give the new album a listen or see The Hoosiers, who are at festivals all over the UK this summer, pop over to their website here.
They said they will be touring up North again this year but made no promises about making it to Leeds – you can tell them on the website if you think they need to come back!
If you are interested in record shop tours, have a look at local shops like Crash Records.
…..and see what’s coming up at The Brudenell Social Club.
Photography by Johanna Populoh.
