Event Anderson Congress • The Manhattan Love Suicides
City San Francisco
State California
Venue House of Shields
Date March 27, 2009
It’s a rare thing for bands to come along and really excite my interest in new music. The Manhattan Love Suicides are one of those rare cases. Hailing from Leeds, England, their sound blends C-86 style indie pop with noisy Jesus and Mary Chain style guitars. The Manhattan Love Suicides were in the US for this year’s SXSW Festival and made a stop in San Francisco before returning to their home country for a tour with British sounding New York-based buzz band, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart.
In true C-86 fashion, the members of the Manhattan Love Suicides go by their first names on their albums: Caroline (vocals), Darren (guitars), Adam (bass), and Rachel (drums). The band’s name is from a 1985 short film by Richard Kern, a New York filmmaker described by AllMusic.com as someone “who no one has actually thought about in close to two decades.” I had high expectations for this band from the few songs I heard off their 2006 self-titled debut and the 2008 compilation Burnt Out Landscapes.
My expectations for the Manhattan Love Suicides were high, but were not let down by their performance. However, I was a bit surprised to see how tiny the House of Shields’ second floor was. This rather intimate performance space was actually not a bad place to enjoy the band’s excellent music. There was a lack of interaction with the audience, and generally short transitions between songs. Otherwise, it was great to see a professional and talented band in such close quarters. They sound a bit like the Primitives at times, and even the Raveonettes with their minimalist noisy surf rock.
Opening band Anderson Congress from San Francisco sounded (as my friend described them) “like all the bands my friends were in in high school” – though with a slightly indie pop sound. They weren’t particularly good or bad, but I was just glad their set was short so I could enjoy the band that I really wanted to see. I noticed that Rachel (who wore a Pains of Being Pure at Heart shirt) of the Manhattan Love Suicides was recording some of their performance with a camcorder. Also, Adam (the tall lanky bassist) was watching them too.
Both bands played extremely short sets, but the Manhattan Love Suicides really left me wanting to hear more. They’re bringing back a sound that is both familiar and unique, which is not easy to do well in modern music. I hope to hear a lot more from this band in the future, hopefully sooner than later.
Setlist:
Keep It Coming
Never Far From You
Misery City
You’ll Never Get That Guy
Veronica
Heat and Panic
- By LIANE CHAN
Tags: Anderson Congress, Manhattan Love Suicides, san francisco
Music
Film & TV
5 People have left comments on this post
What is wrong with this reviewer? Do they know anything? MLS are a cheap JAMC ripoff. Anderson Congress are one of the best things SF has seen for years.
This is the reason the Bay has such a terrible music seen, Idiots like this.
I like MLS, I was actually at this show. Anderson Congress are a better band then them but I thik the singer was sick, he look like he was going to die. Where did you go. Did Jake die?
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Yeah Jake looked like he was ill, I thought they still sounded pretty ace though. They only played four songs, not their whole set.
Where are they now? VH1?
What? This person is obviously a hipster idiot! AC are amazing!