The Golden Silvers @ Foundry 12/02/09

There’s no doubting that The Golden Silvers are cool kids. As part of the chic Hoxton set, they are known for running their monthly party, the somewhat cheesily monikered ‘Bronze Club’, whereby they invite their equally cool mates’ bands to play for the fashionable throng. Tonight they take to the Foundry stage all crushed velvet, big hair and excruciatingly slim fitting trousers.

However, we must let the music do the talking, and having won a place at Glastonbury last year via the organisers’ New Talent competition, expectations for the threesome run pretty high.

It is actually quite surprising to note that while they may be in with the hip crowd, their sound is less that of ‘the now’ and more of a homage to those of the past, most strongly evoking the psychedelia of 60s pop but also incorporating 80s and 90s influences in their particular brand of indie-disco. Think less MGMT, more Beach Boys’ harmonies meet Prince meets Blur’s charm. This mix is perhaps best characterised by the softly bouncing melody of ‘Please Venus’, perhaps the highlight of the set tonight.

This is the second time this academic year that the band have played Fuzz, requesting a return after enjoying it so much the first time round at the height of Freshers’ Week hysteria. It is clear that the band like to take the time to get out of their East London bubble. From behind a broad grin that emerges between each song, ‘This is the third time we’ve been to Sheffield…and every time it’s great’ gushes frontman Gwilym Gold.

And everyone seems suitably entertained. Small pockets break out into bouts of activity while most others contentedly nod in time. But alas, while the set was enjoyable, the floating love songs soon seemed to melt into one and wash over the crowd at times, not quite doing enough to keep it on its toes. So unfortunately, as charming as they were tonight, The Golden Silvers’ solid performance simply lacked that crucial sparkle to turn an alright show into a great one.