Written by Geoff Topley
A chance encounter on Jools Holland’s show with the talent that is Grimes is ultimately responsible for me reviewing The Nowhere Team, the 6-track e.p from Anglo-Irish quartet Saturday Night Gym Club. They also listed M83 as an influence, though I’m not sure I’m hearing that, one of the other electronic acts I’m familiar with and who I find compulsive listening. I must explain that this is a genre that’s not typically my field of expertise, but I’m drawn to the quirky rhythmical haunting textures of Burial and Swedish kooks The Knife. Saturday Night Gym Club must be drawn to that sound too as this e.p. has some incredibly intricate soundscapes and complex arrangements. The clever trick that they manage to pull off is that the technical aspect of the performance is all wrapped up in a warm soulful atmospheric blanket.
Having already garnered the attention of various luminaries from the written press and radio, Saturday Night Gym Club used all manner of recording techniques when they set about self producing their second e.p. Factories, train stations and building sites were used “to explore a new depth of sound”, guest female vocalists add greatly to the mix, echoing the aforementioned Grimes and Burial.
Opening track ‘Honesty’ winds itself up on skittery beats that sound like a clock being cranked, there’s so much happening in the track with a plethora of synth sounds, percussive dexterity and goodness knows what else. Thankfully the band don’t just seek to overwhelm you with studio trickery and the track actually has a memorable melody, as do most of the other tracks. This is followed up with a lovely twinkling instrumental ‘Landscapes’ which is the perfect accompaniment to an early morning commute through the countryside.
The title track ‘The Nowhere Team’ wouldn’t have been my choice of lead track. After the strength and ingenuity of the opening tracks, the key element to this track is a housey piano chord progression that sounds cheesy and outdated to these ears. For me, it’s the worst track on the e.p and not representative of the band’s sound. Maybe the idea is to achieve some cross-over attention to draw the casual listener in? If it had been the first track I’d heard from Saturday Night Gym Club, there’s every chance it would have been the last.
Thankfully the quality picks up again with ‘Suddenly The Feelings Are Ours’ which is driven along by a pulsating, throbbing bass squelch. 'Terra Firma’ does a marvellous job of recreating Stephin Merritt off chute The 6ths, chamber pop music with quirky male vocals and a curious vocal melody. Final track ‘These Infernal Machines’ is the most The Knife-like tune on offer, pitch-shifted vocals flicker and hover overhead, the intricate musical backdrop providing the trampoline for them to bounce off.
As I said at the outset, my knowledge of electronic music has its limitations, but I’m curious and I know if something floats my boat or not. Saturday Night Gym Club (horrible name guys, who thought of that?) have made a challenging e.p. of melodic and thoughtful electronic pop songs. There’s definitely potential and a creative pulse that bodes well for the future. My only fear is that the studio trickery might edge out the songwriting in the long run, please don’t let that happen.
