LIVE REVIEW: Spanish Love Songs, Heart Attack Man, Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, 16/01/2024
Photo Credit: Abbi Draper
Tonight in Nottingham was a perfect showcase of pop-punk done right and we were there to enjoy all the action.
Following a particularly high-energy set from pop-punk band Heart Attack Man, which provided can-crushing, amped up excitement, the new era of Spanish Love Songs demanded a slight tonal shift. The stage was illuminated with a blue wash as the Californian four-piece took to the stage, soundtracked by Doin’ Time by Lana Del Rey. Heart Attack Man had pumped up the crowd with guitar-driven energy – the first piece of the band’s story – and now that vulnerability, and introspective atmosphere was very much set.
At the first chord of Lifers, the crowd were offering their full attention. The opening track of No Joy perfectly exhibits the shifting sounds of Spanish Love Songs, as they enter a new, lighter age as a band. This emotionally resonant, hopeful track trades in some of the heavier, punk guitar lines of their past for some glittery synths and a compelling argument for dancing.
It’s clear that the appeal of Spanish Love Songs for their fans is the catharsis that their music brings, acknowledging self-loathing and personal struggles, and with this new album, No Joy, there is a newfound glimmer of hope at the end of all of it.
Their set list was crafted in such a way that meant fans were dancing between the maturity, and more optimistic No Joy and the rough and raw works from their past. In some ways, this placed some of the old, more nihilistic tracks into a new environment, adding that extra layer of vulnerability that comes with trying to gear yourself towards a more hopeful outlook, which added to the magic of the evening. It can also be assumed that this was a choice to make sure that the wave of new fans off of the back of the success of No Joy were catered towards, as well as the older punk-rock purists throwing themselves into the pit were able to relive the songs they continue to love. It was a well calculated balance from the band, and a choice that made capturing the crowd easier. Moving between the new-wave inspired, dancier tracks like Haunted to more cutting, gut-wrenching tracks like Kick made it easier to appreciate the whole range of the band’s discography.
Having been upgraded from the 220 capacity Bodega to the much larger 450 Rescue Rooms, Spanish Love Songs appear to have struck a chord with this release, without losing the punk rock spark that earlier fans fell in love with. The room was united in awe of the band, without a noticeable dip at any given time. That being said, old favourites like Losers 2 and Everyone and Self Destruction (as a Sensible Career Choice) still hit all the right spots for long-time fans. Despite their new style leaning more towards accessible rock music that moves closer to Springsteen style anthems and slightly farther from earlier pop-punk stylings akin to The Menzingers, there was no evidence of a divided room of old and new fans, as would sometimes be the case in similar situations.
This transition into anthemic rock has turned out to be a good colour on the band, and a shade that their fans have fully embraced. Throughout the night, fists were thrown in the air, and heads were thrown back shouting back those particular lyrics that cut deep for certain individuals, and one of the most beautiful things was that this changed for different people.
While most of the evening was incredibly emotional and reflective, frontman Dylan Slocum was entirely comfortable making jokes with the crowd, and excellently diffused a slightly rude song request, in which he joked that an audience member wanted to start a fight with him.
“Do you want me to be mean to you guys? Is that what you want?” He joked, which was met with a reply that made the whole room laugh.
“You’re already making us sad!”
There was a humility to their performance, which made the night all that more welcoming. They made a mistake during Buffalo Buffalo which meant that the band restarted the final chorus, after joking with the crowd about their error. It was a nice personal touch, and furthered the ‘rough-around-the-edges’ themes lyrically. While their music would indicate eternal nihilism, there was still so much joy to be felt in that room. Slocum is very clearly an excellent frontman, and knows exactly how to bring the whole crowd in, and at ease during a set.
Ending the night with Brave Faces, Everyone, an emo-punk favourite from their 2020 album of the same name, the band rejected the concept of encores, which made sense given the humility that the band carries, and ended the night with a bang. Groups of friends flung arms around each other and belted out the chorus in unity, like a toast to the spirit of carrying on, despite it all. It was a really beautiful end to the night.
For anybody that enjoys a good synth, but also the good old fashioned punk rock tradition, with a solid helping of self-deprecation and catharsis, a Spanish Love Songs show is a great way to spend an evening. 7/10
Written By: Izzy Morris
