Welcome to the ramblings of a man who really should have grown out of listening to "that sort of music" a long, long time ago...A place to share thoughts and photographs on music and related paraphernalia.
Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the special launch and listening party for the new album "Staying Cool Staying Free" by The Everlasting Yeah on Saturday, so instead I dispatched Retro Man Blog's roving reporter for the day, Buddy Ascott to do the honours. Buddy was the perfect choice, as the former drummer in The Chords, he supported The Undertones at quite a few gigs in various cities around the country back in the day and became a big fan of That Petrol Emotion and The Everlasting Yeah. So let's hand over to Buddy to see how the launch party went...
Damian & Brendan at the launch party - photo by Buddy Ascott
I had no great expectations, having never before been to an album listening party, either online or in the flesh. But as a huge fan of The Undertones, That Petrol Emotion and yeah, The Everlasting Yeah, it was a tempting prospect. But what really piqued my interest was the video released that very morning, featuring the lead track on the new album, "Staying Cool, Staying Free". Titled "Girl from Miki City", it sounded remarkably similar to a song, "Making Certain" that I'd recorded back in 1997 with a group of ex-pats living in Japan, called Red Away Tops. In fact it was the very same song! OK, full disclosure - we're busted! Damian O'Neill had sent Billy Hassett (ex-Chords singer) a cassette of new songs back in those carefree days. Mightily impressed, Billy asked Damian if he could "borrow" a couple of the songs for our "Satellite TV" album. Being the gracious chap he is, Damian agreed, but forgot to tell us that the songs were in fact bandmate Raymond Gorman's. And so our little recording project in Japan contained two songs that should have been credited to Raymond. Glad I could get that off my chest, and apologies Raymond!
The launch party crowd photographed by Raymond
The London Irish Centre is set in a quiet, leafy square in London's Camden - not your typical rock'n'roll venue, but then The Everlasting Yeah are not your typical group, and they have a loyal band of followers to prove it. Arriving too early, I was ushered back out into the bar area, and was soon joined by my good friend Tim, who'd travelled all the way from Yorkshire - with a busted leg - just to attend the listening party. With around eighty devotees in attendance, we sat near the front in an impressively wide and beautiful wood-paneled room. The four Yeahsters (as nobody calls them) took to the stage, but instead of strapping on guitars and sitting behind drums, sat down in comfy-looking armchairs, the serene scene completed by a solitary standard lamp. It felt a little surreal, but also exciting. At first the group looked a little self-conscious, up there without instruments, but relaxed as the afternoon progressed. Please note - this review is of the first listen only, and I reserve the right to change my mind upon hearing the album at home! Playback of Side 1 began with the aforementioned "Miki City" track - it made our version sound like a demo! With chunky guitars and soaring vocals, it's a fine album opener and a potential single. The sound system onstage was remarkable: exceptionally clear yet powerful.
The Everlasting Yeah at The Lexington London in 2016 - photo by Paul Slattery
Next up was a song - "Myself When I Am Real" - that showcased Brendan Kelly's sublime bass skills, rolling along like an approaching freight train. On first listen I was convinced it was an instrumental, but the lyrics finally arrived, fully four minutes into the song. This felt very much in the vein of "Taking That Damn Train Again" from their first album - astonishingly, "Anima Rising" is now 10 years old! The song continued with Raymond chanting "It's just myself!" - and in a thrillingly upbeat coda - "Everything is gonna be alright! ALRIGHT!" All four of the band sat tapping their feet in sync, seemingly lost in thought, grinning away at favourite moments. Drummer - and often lead vocalist - Ciaran McLaughlin was particularly animated, as you'd expect from such a fine percussionist. The drums sounded much more natural - untreated - than on their debut album. The side continued with the acoustically led "You Can't Hold Water In A Closed Fist", reminiscent of one of TPE's quieter songs. Side 1 closed with "Hurricane Nation", growling bass and rimshots giving way to a taut and melodic pop song - the harmonies are a really positive feature on this album. There followed a short interval (a kindness to us men of a certain age), before playback recommenced.
The Everlasting Yeah at our Retro Man Blog Night, May 2016 - photo by Paul Slattery
First track on Side 2 was "Rise Up", perhaps an over familiar title, but it's an impassioned plea to "rise up in love" and continues the album's general good vibes - Raymond would later tell us that it was recorded in the face of adversity, and they seemed genuinely happy just to be making music again. "Dylan '65" was up next, as cool as its title - Buzzcocks meets Graham Coxon, guitars to the fore. It's also probably the most Petrols-based track on the album. I would have liked the drum fills a little louder in the mix, but I would say that, wouldn't I? The closing song, "Heartbeat Still", is another epic, clocking in at over 8 minutes. A frantic start gives way to a shaker and a Pink Floyd feel (No wait! Come back!! I mean that in a good way!) that again showcases Brendan's prowess as a bass player. The rhythm changes, the intensity is ramped up and the guitars take over again...only for an electric piano and that Floyd groove to bring this amazing song to a peaceful conclusion. Probably the best vocal performance on the album too, courtesy of Ciaran. There was unanimous, spontaneous applause in the room, much to the apparent relief of the band members.
Buddy Ascott with Brendan
Jon Hunter from The June Brides then joined them onstage to quiz them about the making of the album, and what inspired the songs. There was some good natured joshing between the band, as Raymond and Brendan did the lion's share of the talking. The travails that have delayed the album - mainly health issues - were mentioned only briefly, and the vibe remained positive and optimistic, at least until they were asked how they were going to promote this album. They all shrugged, justifiably feeling their work is now done, and it's up to "the industry" to do with it what they will. They make music primarily for themselves, and they are patently artists, not businessmen. One other revelation was how close they came to being named The Hoodlum Angels at the outset, but happily that only remained as a song title on the debut album. The merch table did brisk business and fans and followers slowly drifted away into the sunshine. A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon, with a cracking album that builds on the promise of "Anima Rising", and then some. Live shows soon, please.
- Buddy Ascott, August 2024
The Everlasting Yeah with Jon Hunter - photo by Buddy Ascott
With thanks to Buddy for the great report, for more information on how to order the new album, please check out The Everlasting Yeah facebook page here. Don't forget our Retrosonic Podcast with Damian, Raymond and Ciaran discussing the history of That Petrol Emotion and The Everlasting Yeah is still available, along with other interview specials with Damian, Raymond and Buddy, by subscribing for free at Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts/iTunes or our SoundCloud main page.
The Everlasting Yeah, formed from the ashes of That Petrol Emotion, released one of the best debut albums of all time "Anima Rising" in 2014 and now they are finally going to release one of the most long-awaited, hightly anticipated follow ups of all time too. Yes, the great news is that the band have overcome various trials and tribulations and are now able to unleash their second album "Staying Cool, Staying Free With The Everlasting Yeah". It seems like such a long time ago that they played at one of our Retro Man Blog Nights at the Half Moon in Putney and debuted a couple of new songs, well it was a long time ago, 2016 in fact. One of the songs that I captured on video that splendid evening was called "Dylan '65", I loved it at the time and I'm pleased to see it features on the new album, although I'm not sure if it will be very different from this...
Here's a few words taken from my review of our Retro Man Blog Half Moon Putney show (you can read the full feature here.)
"The chemistry between all four members is apparent when they play live,
they look like they enjoy each others company and it certainly pays off
in their music. Brendan Kelly's bass throbs with a thunderous intent
and his understanding with drummer Ciaran McLaughlin is impressive as
they lock into a mighty groove. The Everlasting Yeah have added a dash of Krautrock's motorik beats into the mix too which
enables the songs to develop nicely at their own natural pace. In fact
there are more ideas crammed into one Everlasting Yeah song than most
bands manage in a whole album! Raymond Gorman and Damian O'Neill seem
to have some sort of psychic thing going on as their guitars weave in
and out of each other like Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine at their
best. I've always thought that Damian and Raymond were totally
underrated as guitarists, they spin out razor sharp shards of spiky and
inventive riffs that complement each other perfectly. Like Joey
Santiago from the Pixies they take what at first might be familiar
melodic lines and twist them to breaking point. You think you know when
the pay off is going to come but they surprise you with another
unexpected and thought provoking detour. Although Raymond handles most
of the lead vocals - ably backed by Ciaran, who takes the spotlight on
"Everything Is Beautiful" - there's no front-man as such, TPE's singer
Steve Mack having relocated to his hometown Seattle - The Everlasting
Yeah are however, a tight-knit gang who present a united front and
share some stunning four-part vocals harmonies."
The Everlasting Yeah are having a listening party for the album on August 17th from
2-6pm at The London Irish Centre, 50-52 Camden Square, London NW1 9XB. Admission is free and there will be a Q&A session with the band hosted by Jon Hunter from The June Brides. Afterwards you will be able to buy
signed vinyl, CDs and T-shirts and chat to the band. For more information on the Event please check out the details here.
You can check out our features on The Everlasting Yeah gigs at The Half Moon Putney and The Lexington with exclusive Paul Slattery photos. You can check out the Retrosonic Podcast archive for special episodes with Damian and Raymond and lots of related features on the band. Don't forget our thoroughly entertaining Retrosonic Podcast with Raymond, Damian and Ciaran where they discussed their time in That Petrol Emotion, the formation of The Everlasting Yeah and their debut album "Anima Rising".
The Undertones at Camden Electric Ballroom - Photo Retro Man Blog
The Undertones have always held a special place in my heart ever since I first saw them on Top of The Pops as an impressionable 13-year-old back in 1979. I was too young to fully appreciate the initial Punk Rock explosion – the Sex Pistols had already split up and their record company were releasing cash-in singles such as “Silly Thing” and “C’mon Everybody”. Punk was already pretty mainstream, New Wave I guess it was called then, but it did mean that some superb singles were gate-crashing the Top 40 and we got to see loads of exciting bands on TOTP every Thursday evening. The Undertones might not have had the surly aggression of The Stranglers nor the spikey peroxide cool of Generation X and they certainly didn’t have the sharp black and white Mod stylings of The Jam or the theatrical fantasy look of Adam & The Ants but they really struck a chord with me and my pals. The band members were cheeky, smiling and clearly enjoying themselves on the tele and with their snorkel parkas, V-necked jumpers, floppy fringes and questionable complexions we could really relate to them. Most importantly, especially in guitarist Damian O’Neill’s case, they didn’t look much older than we did. So, in 1980 when we started up our very first band in the school music room, our guitarist Jeff copied the guitar swinging style of Damian rather than the high-octane leaps and poses of Mick Jones and Paul Weller. We also butchered “Teenage Kicks” as an encore at our very first gig in the school gym, a C-90 cassette tape of which still exists under lock and key somewhere in the attic. To cap it all, soon after that gig The Undertones released a superb new single about a cousin called Kevin. Hey, I even had a cousin called Kevin!
The Undertones, Belfast 1978 - Photo by Paul Slattery
John & Damian O'Neill at Camden Electric Ballroom - Photo Retro Man Blog
The band’s second album “Hypnotised” became a firm favourite and even to this day, remains in my “all-time top 10 albums of all time” (as Smashey and Nicey would say). After The Undertones split, the O’Neill brothers were to have a similarly invigorating impact on my life with their new outfit That Petrol Emotion and the blistering 1985 singles “Keen” and “V2”. These were followed a year later by their debut album “Manic Pop Thrill”, the title of which summed up their sound better than anything I could ever think up. On their release, I wrote about these records in my old D.I.Y. cut ‘n’ paste fanzine “Out of Step” – the records were ahead of their time, something that could be said for That Petrol Emotion’s career as a whole I guess. So, let’s fast forward to 2014 and Damian was involved in another pivotal musical moment in my life with the release of "Anima Rising" by a new band called The Everlasting Yeah - who just so happened to be the last line-up of That Petrol Emotion minus singer Steve Mack, who had moved back to the States and now fronts the excellent band Stag. "Anima Rising" must surely rank among the greatest debut albums of all time and I was thrilled to get to meet Damian, along with Raymond Gorman and Ciaran McLaughlin from the band around this time to record our comprehensive and thoroughly entertaining Retrosonic Podcast special about TEY and TPE (as they can handily be abbreviated).
Steve, Raymond, Brendan & Damian (That Petrol Emotion) at Stag gig, Islngton
The Everlasting Yeah, Half Moon Putney - Photo Retro Man Blog
This led to me putting on a show for The Everlasting Yeah at one of my Retro Man Blog nights at The Half Moon in Putney, a wonderful night that will live long in the memory. I also then did two more Podcast episodes with Damian about his career in music, including his superb solo album “Refit, Revise, Reprise” and contributions to 5 Billion in Diamonds, a kind of super-group project created by Garbage drummer and producer Butch Vig, James Grillo and Andy Jenks and also featuring our mutual acquaintance Ebbot Lundberg of The Soundtrack of Our Lives. Damian also discusses how he and Billy Doherty got to produce the excellent New York based Power Pop band Baby Shakes. All throughout these encounters, I think I did a reasonable job of holding myself together and not collapsing to the floor in a blubbering fan-boy wreck. At least I hope I did. In the meantime, hopping back to 2003, I’d seen The Undertones at the Brighton Concorde 2 for the first time since the band had got back together with vocalist Paul McLoone stepping in to fill the shoes of Feargal Sharkey and I was blown away. They’d just released a superb album of all new material called “Get What You Need” and yes, this really was just what I needed.
The Undertones in Brighton, 2003 - Photo Retro Man Blog
The lead single “Thrill Me” gave me goose bumps – it had all the unmistakeable melodies of the classic Undertones with the edgy sonic thrill of That Petrol Emotion. The Undertones were back in my life. They released another mighty fine album called “Dig Yourself Deep” in 2007 that again highlighted the fact that the band were very much of the here and now. Damian and Brian O’Neill’s excellent label Dimple Discs Records have just released “Dig What You Need”, a new compilation of the best of these two albums, re-mixed by Paul Tipler and sequenced by Damian. It also marks the first time on vinyl for the featured tracks and is packed full of great numbers such as “Enough”, “She’s So Sweet” and the brooding “Fight My Corner”, which I always thought sounded like a long lost That Petrol Emotion track. The compilation is not only perfect for those that might have overlooked the Undertones ‘Mark 2’ material but is a must-have for the die-hard fan too. It all sounds so fresh and exciting in a different context, especially when played extremely loud on vinyl.
Soundcheck at Camden Electric Ballroom - Photo Retro Man Blog
And now, rather like one of those annoying backwards and forwards time-travelling dramas, (insert wavy lines and psychedelic music) I find myself in the present day, standing on the side of the stage at the Electric Ballroom in Camden watching The Undertones sound-check. It’s hard not to avoid the lump in the throat, as I think back to myself as that 13-year-old boy transfixed by seeing the band on Top of The Pops. It’s a dream come true to be standing so close to the band that has meant so much to me over the years. The venue starts to fill up and is soon packed to the rafters and there’s barely room to move as the band take the stage and blast straight into “Family Entertainment”. The atmosphere is amazing – there’s such a wonderful vibe as the band speed their way through a career spanning set of almost thirty songs. Paul pulls out all the stops with his high kicks, jumps and Elvis moves – he’s an engaging frontman that has built up a real rapport with the crowd and live, his voice is really something special. Rather like Baz Warne in The Stranglers, Paul has made the position his own on merit – keeping the integrity of the original delivery intact while retaining his own personality. There’s the usual witty on stage banter, mainly from bassist Mickey Bradley as he reads out requests and dedications between songs.
The Undertones at Camden Electric Ballroom - Photo Retro Man Blog
Damian and John’s guitars are immensely powerful, swapping rhythm and lead parts effortlessly and Billy’s drums propel everything along at breakneck speed. Mickey jokes, “that’s a record, the quickest we’ve ever played that” after one song. “Hypnotised” and “Tearproof” are personal favourites and of course, the pick of faultless singles such as “Here Comes The Summer”, “You’ve Got My Number”, ”Jimmy Jimmy” and the inevitable “Teenage Kicks” are certainly hard to beat. It’s not just about the singles though, they treat us to a plethora of excellent album cuts and B-Sides like “I Gotta Getta”, “Jump Boys”, “True Confessions” and of course “Male Model”. The Paul McLoone era songs featured on “Dig What You Need” such as “Thrill Me”, “Oh Please” and “Dig Yourself Deep”, sit perfectly alongside all the familiar classics and I particularly enjoyed “Here Comes The Rain”, which sounded superb tonight.
The Undertones at Camden Electric Ballroom - Photo Retro Man Blog
I think it’s rare to see such a band where the only disappointment is that they don’t include more “new” material in the set. Given the quality of the songs highlighted on “Dig What You Need”, it’s a bit of a shame that they haven’t released any new material since the 2013 Record Store Day single “Much Too Late”. The band seem content to spend more time touring rather than being cooped up in a studio these days and I suppose you can’t blame them. When you get the chance to play live in front of frenzied, adoring crowds around the world, you’re not going to turn down the opportunity I guess. Anyway, after such an abysmal couple of years, it’s hard to put into words how wonderful tonight’s show was. It was so great to experience once again the sheer joy and life-affirming power of timeless music played by a band that still clearly enjoy themselves as much as we, the fans do. The crowd - from the very front of the stage to the bars at the back and to the balconies above - all singing along together, almost drowning out the band…bloody marvellous!
At the time of writing, it was announced that drummer Billy Doherty unfortunately had a medical emergency, which meant a show had to be cancelled at the last minute. However, the band have recruited Kevin Sharkey as a deputy and the rest of the advertised dates should be going ahead as advertised, but please double check with the venues. Our very best wishes to Billy for a speedy recovery. “Dig What You Need” is available now from Dimple Discs Records.
Please check out the following highlighted links...
Retro Man Blog - feature on The Everlasting Yeah at The Half Moon Putney
Retro Man Blog - Good Vibrations movie feature with photos by Paul Slattery
Write Wyatt - Malcolm Wyatt's excellent Blog with lots of Undertones related features
For videos of The Undertones at the Camden Electric Ballroom and more...please check out the Retro Man Blog YouTube channel. Here's a little taster for you...enjoy!
In the third episode of our Lockdown Lowdown series, we welcome Raymond Gorman, guitarist and vocalist with The Everlasting Yeah and That Petrol Emotion into the virtual Retrosonic Podcast studio. In this thoroughly entertaining episode Raymond talks us through some of his most memorable musical moments from hearing The Beatles for the first time and impressing the girls with his dancing to T-Rex. He explains about various gigs and records that made an impact on him and his guitar playing and there are some candid stories of why he stopped playing piano, why he couldn't get into the legendary Casbah Club and how That Petrol Emotion almost signed to Creation. Along the way we learn about his encounters with Iggy Pop, Kevin Rowland, John Cooper-Clarke, Pete Wylie, Dieter Meyer of Yello, Ian McLagan and of course The Undertones. This hugely enjoyable trip down memory lane is soundtracked by some of Raymond's favourite tunes from The Beatles, Marc Bolan & T-Rex, Taste (featuring Rory Gallagher), Horslips, The Undertones, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Iggy Pop, The Sweet and David Bowie. There's also a pick of some of Raymond's own work with That Petrol Emotion and The Everlasting Yeah along with a rare snippet of his first live performance with John O'Neill. "Self-consciousness is the enemy of good art" - Raymond Gorman
Full Tracklisting:
The Everlasting Yeah "A Little Bit of Uh-Huh"
The Beatles "She Loves You"
Marc Bolan & T-Rex "Metal Guru"
David Bowie "Life on Mars?"
Horslips "Furniture"
Taste (feat. Rory Gallagher) "Same Old Story"
The Undertones "True Confessions"
The Undertones "You're Welcome"
Raymond Gorman & John O'Neill "Pale Blue Eyes" (live)
That Petrol Emotion "Keen"
That Petrol Emotion "Lifeblood"
That Petrol Emotion "Abandon" (Boys Own Remix)
That Petrol Emotion "Sweet Shiver Burn"
That Petrol Emotion "Heartbeat Mosaic"
Iggy Pop & James Williamson "Kill City"
Dexy's Midnight Runners "Tell Me When My Light Turns Green"
Marc Bolan & T-Rex "20th Century Boy"
The Sweet "Ballroom Blitz"
The Everlasting Yeah "New Beat On Shakin' Street"
The Everlasting Yeah "The Grind"
Here's a Playlist that Raymond compiled for us featuring some more of his recommended records.
Television "See No Evil"
Roxy Music "Beauty Queen"
Stevie Wonder "Maybe Your Baby"
New York Dolls "Jet Boy"
Love "Maybe The People Would Be The Times..."
Bryan Ferry "Love Me Madly Again"
Buzzcocks "Time's Up"
Bob Dylan "My Own Version Of You"
Low "Congregation"
Free "Oh, I Wept"
New Order "Nothing But a Fool"
Jimi Hendrix Experience "Castles Made of Sand"
Bobby Charles "Small Town Talk"
Useful Links - Please click on the highlighted links below for further information:
Damian O'Neill - Retrosonic Special with Damian on his "Refit Revise Reprise" LP
Podcover photo by Paul Slattery. Subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast for FREE at iTunes or at our Soundcloud site/archive here. This episode can also be downloaded or streamed directly below.
The Everlasting Yeah photographed by Paul Slattery
Back in 1985 nothing was really grabbing me musically except maybe the Paisley Underground scene and the Garage Rock and Psych revival of bands such as The Prisoners, Hoodoo Gurus, Fuzztones and Playn Jayn etc. There was the “Positive Punk” (oh go on then...Gothic) sounds of The Sisters of Mercy, Flesh For Lulu and Red Lorry Yellow and then a few hard to categorise bands such as Big Audio Dynamite, The Three Johns and Fatima Mansions. So when I heard that the O’Neill brothers, from one of my all time favourite bands The Undertones, were back with a brand new band called That Petrol Emotion I was really excited. I remember getting the single “Keen” with its rather bleak black and grey cover featuring Edvard Munch’s painting “The Scream” on the front. I put it on the record player and placed the needle down gently on the revolving black vinyl. I might well have performed an impromptu impersonation of Munch’s famous distorted face, hands quickly covering my ears as the raw crackling production spat that intense wired riff out of the speakers. The song was out of kilter with the times, bursting with a barely controlled vitriol and it blew me away, I was totally hooked. The Undertones connection was quickly booted into touch – there was no comparison to the over-produced and somewhat disappointing swansong “The Sin of Pride” of a few years earlier. “Keen” was a statement of intent. This is a new band. The past is irrelevant. Then came another blistering single "V2" and the first album "Manic Pop Thrill", which must go down as one of the best debuts of all time and also the most aptly titled!
Damian O'Neill photographed by Paul Slattery
Despite four more superb albums and almost cracking the top 40 in 1987 with "Big Decision" and writing countless other classics such as "Swamp", "Hey Venus", "Creeping To The Cross" and "Sensitize" sadly That Petrol Emotion split up in 1994 without really fulfilling their obvious potential. It was a huge blow, after all their last ever studio album "Fireproof" was, in my mind at least, the best thing they had released since "Manic Pop Thrill". It was packed with some of the most stunning songs the band had ever written, I mean just looking at the track listing now there's "Big Human Thing", "Last Of The True Believers", "Infinite Thrill", "Speed Of Light" and the single "Detonate My Dreams" which all showed a band on top form. However, they called it a day and joined my growing list of criminally underrated and unappreciated bands that I always seem to fall in love with. I could rant on about the sordid injustice of the music business and the stifling of originality and individualism but sod it, I despair sometimes. The real kick in the teeth though was despite all that, That Petrol Emotion just wrote perfect Pop music, why weren't they huge...!? Do people have cloth ears…!? So, in the end I was left to mourn another band. But then fast forward to 2008 and there was a glimmer of hope when the band did get back together for a promising and well received reunion. But this proved ultimately short-lived as Seattle based singer Steve Mack couldn't commit long-term due to family and logistical reasons rather than anything musical from what I can gather.
Raymond Gorman photographed by Paul Slattery
But then last year out of the blue, just as that debut single "Keen" ripped it all up for me some thirty years earlier, so did my first listen to "Anima Rising" a new album by a band called The Everlasting Yeah who I found out were basically That Petrol Emotion just not quite as I knew them. Other than Steve Mack, who was not involved, here was the line-up from the "Fireproof" album and the reunion shows, Damian O’Neill and Raymond Gorman on guitars, Ciaran McLaughlin on drums and Brendan Kelly on the bass. So, how do you replace Steve Mack’s distinctive vocals and hugely infectious, charismatic energy? Well the answer is you don’t. In a refreshing move The Everlasting Yeah didn’t go out and search for a Steve Mack-alike and decided to carry on as a four piece with Raymond taking on most of the lead vocal duties. The powerful and unfussy production on "Anima Rising", with its timeless sound of crunching guitars, growling bass and brilliantly captured drums, force each individual band member's undoubted talents into the spotlight. Raymond clearly relishes the task of taking on the bulk of the singing but The Everlasting Yeah present a united front and it works perfectly well. Ciaran sings lead vocals on the gorgeous “Everything’s Beautiful” and Damian and Brendan provide sterling backing vocals throughout. It’s these vocal harmonies that elevate the songs to another level and even after first listen they get lodged in your head, quickly becoming as familiar as the hits and classics from the impressive back catalogue of their previous bands.
Ciaran McLaughlin photographed by Paul Slattery
I hadn’t looked forward to a gig so much for ages, I was intrigued to see how the band would work on stage and how they would compile a set out of a debut album that after all only consisted of seven songs. First of all it was encouraging to see The Lexington was packed out and positively bristling with anticipation as the band took the stage and kicked off with a new song “Myself When I Am Real” that surfs in on a riff that’s not too dissimilar to the next number the album opener "A Little Bit of Uh-Huh & A Whole Lotta Oh Yeah". It’s this track that could well become the band’s signature tune, a relentlessly upbeat singalong that distills the essence of all that glorious melodic guitar Pop that both That Petrol Emotion and The Undertones specialised in. Standing right at the front of the stage the first thing that hits me is Ciaran’s quite stunning drumming, which is a sight and sound to behold. With his call-centre head mic allowing him to divide his time equally between some impressive vocals and hitting the skins, he is not content to take a back seat. "Hoodlum Angels" is a slow groove riding along on a funky rhythm guitar riff topped off with some marvellous falsetto backing vocals. The band are locked in tight despite not having played a gig in quite some time and just like the album tonight’s sound at The Lexington is spot on, allowing each band member to be heard loud and clear. Another great new song "Whatever You Do Say Nothing" is well received, in fact all the new songs played tonight, the other two being "Dylan 65" and "Hurricane Nation", promise that the follow up to "Anima Rising" is going to be even better and at no point does the audience's attention wander. Thinking about it, all of The Everlasting Yeah's songs are quite cinematic, they are well plotted with interesting diversions and little red herrings thrown in along the way that merge back together with a satisfying pay off. The songs are allowed to breathe with the band allowing things to drop out and slam back in again. On the album there are tracks that stretch over eight, even twelve minutes in length, but don’t worry this is not Prog Rock meandering, far from it, the songs are taut, bristling with inventive guitar passages that develop naturally.
The Everlasting Yeah photographed by Paul Slattery
Raymond and Damian complement each other perfectly, trading guitar riffs like Television's Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd at their duelling best. Brendan's bass is prominent and impressive and both him and Ciaran power away with an almost Krautrock Motorik groove. They all look startlingly young and cool too, there must surely be some sort of Dorian Gray portrait hanging backstage! There's a definite chemistry between all four band members which is nice to see, they look like they are having a lot of fun and this increases as their confidence grows throughout the evening. "All Around The World" is probably the most immediate song on the album and tonight it's one of my highlights of the set, a classic
melodic Garage Rocker which you can hear in Episode 20 of Retrosonic Podcast. The Undertones of course were not afraid to write emotional and heartfelt songs such as "Wednesday Week" and just as The Velvet Underground tempered their noise with tracks such as "Sunday Morning" and "I’ll Be Your Mirror" so That Petrol Emotion released some truly beautiful pieces such as "A Million Miles Away" and "Heartbeat Mosaic" for example. The Everlasting Yeah continue this tradition with “Everything’s Beautiful” sung by Ciaran and it comes over really well live. "New Beat On Shakin' Street" is yet another cracker of a song with it's hook "First is life, second is truth, third is love and fourth is a peaceful heart" that will stick in your head for days to follow. Maybe my only slight gripe of the evening was that I think they should have
stuck with ending the set with "Taking That Damn Train Again" as it built to a
quite superb crescendo and it would have been a perfect way to end on such a high. But of course the crowd were
left baying for more and the band duly obliged by following that with
an encore of "The Grind", the album's twelve minute-plus closing track. On record it is a great ending but live I wasn't so sure about it however, what
should I have expected, them to come on and do a medley of “Teenage
Kicks” and “Big Decision”? No, I don’t really think so! There's no pandering to nostalgia tonight.
Brendan Kelly photographed by Paul Slattery
The Everlasting Yeah have an identity of their own, they have distilled all of their influences into a concise and individual
sound which is maybe something that That Petrol Emotion struggled to do
on occasions. They avoid genres and categories which who knows, may well again hinder them as it did with That Petrol Emotion. However, if there was a genre entitled "Intelligent Positive Guitar Pop with Uplifting and Life Affirming Tunes" then Everlasting Yeah would be leading the movement!
Damian O'Neill photographed by Paul Slattery
You can hear "All Around The World" by The Everlasting Yeah in Episode 20 of Retrosonic Podcast and one of our favourite tracks from That Petrol Emotion in Episode 21. There are more photos of the gig over at the Retro Man Blog Facebook page here, just hit "Like", if you are not already following, to access the photo album. Some of Paul Slattery's photographs of The Undertones from back in 1978 can be seen in our feature on the "Good Vibrations" movie in the Blog archive here.
For more info on the band please check out their official The Everlasting Yeah web-site.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
