REVIEW: Matt Grocott & The Shrives @The Gunners Pub, London.
- rattlemag
- May 13, 2016
- 3 min read
A stone's throw from the looming shadow of Arsenal's Emirates stadium in North London, is a small pub and live music venue unsurprisingly named 'The Gunners'. It's a quiet Friday evening, and tonight this modest stage will be home to a somewhat diffident group of musicians. Singer and guitarist Matt Grocott and his merry band of Shrives.
Matt Grocott and the Shrives hail from Lincolnshire in England, and consist of Josh Horsfall on Guitar, Tom Shelton on bass, drummer Joe Michelson and of course their namesake Mr Grocott heading up the show on lead vocals and guitar.
There need not be any embellishment for a band like this. Understated in their presentation save for a few delightfully questionable shirt choices, these guys are probably used to being underestimated. Be as that may, the moment these modern purveyors of old school cool hit the lights, they are ready to tear through such expectations with the un-fracturable fangs of some earnestly well crafted post punk rock and roll. Channelling affectivity ranging from Elvis Costello and The Hives, to The Libertines , Madness and a touch of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club they are offering a goliath sized twist of jaunty 80's alternative sound to the palate of modern musers. Despite their youth they demonstrate an evident and panoptic ornamentation of knowledge and respect for their craft throughout their set and beyond. In short, this is a band that is perhaps unwittingly poised to teach us a few things about the balance of conservation and evolution in music. In the age of Instagram fallacy and drum machine backed radio touts, bands like these Grantham underdogs are medics in the trenches, sorely needed and few in number. They have earned themselves a clique cartel of loyal fans who won't often turn down a chance to treat themselves to a Shrives show, but so far it's a mystery to me why more fans are not flocking the gates of chance to see these guys in their lowkey element.
Tonight's spread is a tight grouping of their usual offering kicking off with 'Is it Love?' closely followed by the popular 'When did you get home?'. Other highlights include the addictive punk punch of 'Turn Me On' atomically infused with audible instrumental echo's of The Foxboro Hot Tubs; the undefiable sing-a-long aesthetic of 'Wondering' and another fan favourite 'What are you taking?'. Little showmanship is needed where beats like this are concerned and Grocott himself may well be one of the most effortlessly enjoyable and deceptively nonchalant first rate vocalists you will ever hear in a setting like this. This band is imbued with the foundations of genuinely worthy indie salability and brings to life an all encompassing reanimation of everything that is great about British rock. Joe Michelson garnishes their set with a penultimate drum roll that sounds like the skies on the 4th of July, a fitting send off for such an unpretentiously dynamite group.
From London to California there is no doubt about it. Nevermind The Beatles or The Buzzcocks, Matt Grocott and the Shrives are one of Britain's most under-prized bands.
WORDS: Billy Jackson PHOTO: Anthony Firmin
Don't be left 'Wondering', some of the material mentioned can be enjoyed and downloaded for free on the band's Soundcloud page www.soundcloud.com/mattgrocott-theshrives or better yet, head on down to Matt Grocott and The Shrive's next show in your area and let the boys 'Turn you on'.
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