Live Review

Allo Darlin’ – Manchester Night and Day Cafe

• 31st Jan 2011

What are your main perceptions of Australia? Is it a sunny paradise filled with beaches where you can lie lazily all day in shorts and sandals as the sun wraps you in its warm and sizzling rays? Or is it perhaps the thought of walking through the brightly illuminated streets as you wipe ice cream of your loved one’s nose? If you thought this would never come to rainy England of all places, think again. Allo Darlin’ are bringing the light to our very own dreary weather and may we bask in all its bright glory.

It all goes the same for their music. It’s all inoffensive and cheesy indie pop. It’s Beirut meets Stock, Aitken and Waterman or Wilco meets the Beach Boys. The band radiate this same shameless cheeriness as Elizabeth Morris smiles like a cheeky school girl who’s just gotten away with something whilst bassist Will Harrison or Will Ferrell as we should call him, is the actor in full comedic cheer joining an indie band.

The majority of the Night and Day café is blanketed by a slight darkness but it takes the aforementioned band to illuminate the building in glistening rays. The Polaroid Song is a nostalgic bike ride through meadows of lush flowers as the uplifting and friendly vocal harmonies are only complimented by the summer time guitar chimes. Dreaming is feel good surf rock as the ukulele and bass skip along together in blissful unison.

However, there’s darkness past all the “twee” candy like pop. You might as well make a film about the emotional transformation of Barbie after her break up with Ken. If Loneliness is Art deals with hopes of potential love (“Today I’m going to be your girl, one fine day I’m going to be your girl,” It’s Blondie meet’s the Pippettes) and Let’s Go Swimming takes a poke out the current indie scene (“All of the hipsters in Shoreditch could never style it,” Parklife in a mellow and reverberant aura).

But perhaps one of the main qualms with the show is that it’s all a little too cheesy. Kiss Your Lips is a romantic trip through a fairground with Noah and the Whale as they try to prove their worth to you (“You tried to prove your manliness by winning me a teddy bear”). It’s the Beatle’s Yellow Submarine, sure they’re who they are but it’s still cheesy in a slightly guilt felt way. Who cares if it all brings a smile to your face though?