Music
Review: Five things we learned from The Beach at Electrowerkz
1. The support act, George Crosby (any relation to Bing?) has the voice of an indie Rick Astley. Something to be taken as a compliment – Rick Astley was a mighty fine vocalist in his day. George’s style is more stripped back and atmospheric than Rick’s ’80s swagger, with lots of echo on both him and his electric guitar. His is a beautifully melancholic offering, that makes it sound as if he would never give you up.
2. There’s style in their service. The horror of queuing for a can of Strongbow is almost completely assuaged by the fact that it is being sold to you from a metal box that used to carry people through the ground. Pretty bloomin’ impressive if you ask me.
3. Prior to this, The Beach performed at an open mic. This week, the London singer-songwriter had several hundred people listening, and cheering him on, in an edgy Islington venue. The music business moves in mysterious ways. Also, despite having a band-like name, The Beach is actually a solo artist who plays with a backing band. The plot thickens.
4. The Beach (or George to his friends) doesn’t have enough songs to do an encore yet. With single, Thieves, closing the set in triumphant fashion, the crowds’ call for more suggests he’ll have to start churning out more tracks sharpish.
5. It’s possible to fill a room at your first ever headline gig. Sure, he only has two tracks available online, but with a combined streaming figure of streamed 445,000 on Spotify, tonight feels like the beginning of a bright future for The Beach.
