Minor Victories at Village Underground

Super groups eh? What to make of them. For every Dusty Springfield, there are many Them Crooked Vultures, yet this doesn’t seem to put off the great and the good from trying. The latest effort is Minor Victories, compromising of Stuart Brathwaite of Mogwai, Rachel Goswell of Slowdive and Justin Lockey from Editors. A stellar line-up indeed, but as the spectre of Them Crooked Vultures reminds us, talented musicians do not necessarily make a great band.

Last night’s show at Village Underground was probably the perfect setting for the first of undoubtedly many gigs that Minor Victories will be undertaking. Unfortunately, whilst aesthetically delightful, Village Underground is aurally catastrophic. Opening track Give up the Ghost is a scuzzy, sleazy start and sounds exactly what the audience were after. With guitar lines as distorted as a Daily Mail news article, it’s a seemingly perfect blend of the band members present on stage. Sadly though, all of the niche sounds that make the individual bands great are lost in the great melange of noise, and the results are somewhat uninspiring. Single A Hundred Ropes is a dictionary definition of the dangers of the “super-group”, with not one member looking particularly aware of what he/she is supposed to be doing, and, despite having to stop and start the song again, there is little in the way of improvement.

An ounce of forgiveness can be awarded, as it’s clear that Minor Victories haven’t spent much time playing together. Combined with the terrible acoustics, what should have been a spectacular art/post-collaboration was more of an aural assault, and not in a good way. Breaking My Light and Out to Sea were brief glimpses of what Minor Victories have the potential to achieve; the former has that luscious Mogwai style, but such highlights were few and far between. All in all Minor Victories struggled last night, but there’s enough there, and a group with as much talent as this one deserves a second chance.

James Fisher

For further information about Minor Victories and future events visit here.

Watch the music video for Folk Arp here: