Money – Belgrave Music Hall (5/5)
In Manchester’s unforgiving industrial landscape, MONEY are the latest musical outfit to emerge from its crevices. Fronted by Jamie Lee – a clown-like and enchanting creature – they deliver a sound so honest you feel as though their cards haven’t just been laid out on the table, but that they’re for the taking, for savouring in your heart. This year, having released their self-titled debut LP Shadow of Heaven through the prestigious Bella Union, the quartet are gaining a reputation for rambunctious, beguiling and altogether unique live shows.
Standing in the bitterly cold music room of The Belgrave Music Hall in Leeds, a small, but eager audience gather for a midweek musical treat. Prior to the rest of the band taking to the stage Lee, accompanied by a bottle of whisky, treats us to a heartfelt rendition of The Pogues’ ‘A Pair Of Brown Eyes’ which reverberates endlessly around the room while his onlookers warm themselves with the image of an open fire he conjures up.
Similar to the late passion-driven Manchester quartet WU LYF – but with a far more effortless and genuine delivery – MONEY make you believe every word they sing. The quasi-religious references: “The Whip across my back in God’s reign / Who’d have thought he’d die young / And I feel like the one” in ‘So Long (God is Dead)’ encourages the audience to yearn for something greater. Drenched in reverb, ‘Bluebell Fields’ is sprinkled with psychedelia and twiddling guitar lines which illuminates a few swaying bodies under the dim lighting. The absence of a piano on stage means we won’t see Lee perform the haunting ‘Goodnight London’, though his charming interaction with the audience – which includes sharing his whisky and handing out beers to the front row – more than makes up for it. The anthemic, yet lyrically melancholic ‘Hold Me Forever’ is the highlight – the word “Heaven” is repeated towards the crescendoing finish until it reaches the climatic line “…is real”, truly capturing everything that makes MONEY so mesmerising.
As the evening draws to a close, the awestruck audience applaud in the hopes of an encore. Now, parading around with an empty bottle of whisky (we must assume our frontman is at least a little intoxicated), Lee treats us to another old, crooning classic: ‘True Love Will Find You in the End’ by Daniel Johnston. The silhouette stands tall over us as his last words of Johnston’s charming number woo us into transcendental bliss.
Adam Nelon