Thursday 26/07/07 Paul Steel @ Thekla Social, Bristol

It’s always a bit unsettling when there are more people on the stage than in the crowd.  This is the case tonight at Thekla where a handful of people have gathered in front of Paul Steel and his band.  But hey, it’s better than the three people who turned up last night in Manchester. The masses are missing out.  Fun-filled and instantly catchy the songs tell proper stories complete with pop harmonies, kazoos and lots of energy. 
 
This vibrant music has drawn comparisons with Mika, but Mr Steels’ lyrics are deceptively darker – like ‘Honkin’.  With a melody that would fit on a kids’ TV show, Paul sings out “Suck that crack pipe into my face, honkin’ on my crack pipe.”  His songs are addictive as the drug he sings of. ‘I Will Make You Disappear’ is slightly bi-polar: one minute it’s slow like a lullaby, with Beach Boys flavoured harmonies, the next drums, tambourine and three guitars wail and soar.  Showing his eclectic sound, forthcoming single ‘Your Loss’ has an uplifting tune reminiscent of Supergrass and psychedelic ‘Rust & Dust’ gives a nod to David Bowie.      

While the crowd remains subdued, a full-on part breaks out on stage.  Paul and his backing singers jog then dance madly to the warped laser effects of ‘Raygun’.  The audience has grown but it’s a performance that’s deserving of a much larger following.  Kitsch, slightly camp and rather dramatic, these songs are memorable and easy to sing to.  The band are off to Japan tomorrow for Fuji Rocks - hopefully it’ll only be a matter of time before we can sing them at karaoke.