LIVE REVIEW: EEVAH, Ready Weather, Sad Girl, Garage Attic, Glasgow, 22/03/2025
Photo Credit: Simon Walker
Almost a year after their debut headline tour EEVAH are back in Glasgow to play an intimate set upstairs in the Garage Attic, we really like this venue as it allows you to be as close as possible to the artists on the stage and tonight just watching the talented Richard McNamara (yes he of Embrace fame) playing his guitar was mesmerising at times. Nicole Hope-Smith and Richard formed EEVAH a few years ago and have now recruited drummer Fay Clayton to complete the band.
As we walked up the staircase to the top floor we could hear that local band Sad Girl had already started their set, they are a duo that create a mix of electronica with some drum and bass influences, they make good use of the drum pads. The crowd got behind the music as a cover of the timeless Portishead classic Glory Box was played, the last track Paranoid was the best of the set. 6/10
Next up was Ready Weather, a four-piece pop/rock band from Glasgow led by the energetic Lauren Black, they may only have two tracks released on the streaming platforms but they provided a half-hour packed with a mixture of heavy rock/pop/grunge that was really enjoyable, they were a great choice of support for EEVAH. Lorne Black on guitar was right out of the Richard McNamara school of guitar playing, the two released songs – Happy To See You and Ez On U – are well worth a listen and the band will be releasing a debut EP this year. 7/10
As we awaited EEVAH taking to the stage it was good to have a chat with some of the fans we met at last year’s performance at The Poetry Club, one guy asked if we were doing the splits again this year! After wracking my brain for a moment it came back to me … Nicole Hope-Smith had requested a dance competition at last year’s gig with the winner receiving an artificial rose, yours truly won the rose with a mixture of dad dancing and doing the splits a couple of times. Turns out the woman that we passed the rose on to last year was wearing it in her hair tonight, one guy even had video evidence from last year!
Anyway on to the music now … the set started with a new song Oh My Heart taken from the upcoming second EP I Didn’t See It Coming that will be released on 23rd May, the crowd are quiet but listening intensely for the first few songs but gets livelier for latest release Lullaby and the first ever EEVAH release Apology in 2020. Nicole Hope-Smith provides some beautiful vocals that strike you right in the heart, this trio are making some very passionate indie-pop music right now. Notice You is another of the new releases that went down well with the crowd, EEVAH played a good mix of old and new tracks with another two new ones being showcased tonight – Girl In My Head and Young Baby Donna being the songs – allowing fans an insight into the upcoming EP. Richard McNamara is in charge of both guitar and synth on the tour, moving easily between them, at times it’s hard to keep your eyes off him as he makes it all look so easy, the band are steadily building a decent following around the UK and the fact that McNamara is also the guitarist in Embrace is not lost on us. As the set draws to a conclusion we still have time to appreciate two of their biggest songs I Wanna Be Yours and Promises, the rose tonight goes to a fan that is singing their heart out instead of the best dancer (thankfully for us!)
The six-minute epic that is I Still Think Of You ends the fifteen-track set, a song that was written about the grief process, this one has the Embrace sound written all over it as Nicole, Richard and Fay give it everything, the lyrics are heart wrenching at times “I’m carrying the news, that yesterday’s changed/roses on the carpet, a silence you could name” sings Nicole. A show of appreciation from the one hundred and fifty fans that packed into the small venue ended a great night of music, we look forward to the release of the EP in May. 9/10
Written by: Alan Brown
