Vinyl Junkie Presents: Mint @ The Magnet 23/3/2017

Vinyl Junkie returned to The Magnet last night with Ladies, The Jade Assembly, Plastic House and Mint for company.

The Magnet played host to Mint who were surprisingly playing their first gig in Liverpool, Thursday night.

Downstairs in the cosy setting of The Magnet, local band, Ladies. Like an infusion of Libertines with Arctic Monkeys but with a 60s rock sound, Ladies raised the curtains on the night in fun fashion. With quirky lyrics and strong vocals, matched with enlightening guitar play, the trio got the intimate crowd well prepared for what was still to come on the night.

Keeping to a north west theme, Bolton four piece, The Jade Assembly brought their rugged and electric sounds to the stage of The Magnet. At times I drew a comparison to Foo Fighters during their ‘Pretender‘ years as apposed to their more recent material, if Foo Fighters had northern English accents.

In their short set they managed to rile the crowd with a blunt “Fuck the terrorists” in light of the attacks on Wednesday in London, then even with their in-your-face style managed to swoon us with an ode to frontman, John Foster’s wife. The energy levels were raised by the end of their set, adding to the atmosphere that was brewing from Ladies’ earlier performance. By the end of their set, the audience were left happy to the point that Foster was being bought shots of whiskey as a thank you while he was packing up his gear.

One of the most exciting bands to look out for in the near future, hailing from Stockport, Plastic House took to the stage with an extract of a speech, setting the mood as if to invoke inspiration or hope. Fast-paced, high energy and catchy songs, filled with loud and fun instrumentals. This was a band going on stage and just making the most of their time in the spotlight. The songs were passionate and it was that emotion that came through to the crowd and it was a set that you couldn’t keep still while watching from start to end.

Premiering their new single, ‘I Believe In You‘, was a highlight as it gradually raised from a gentle beat and soft guitar on the ears before overwhelming you with emotion and peaking with an explosion of sound, seeing the song come to life. What really was the standout moment in Plastic House’s set was their lively and unique cover of Michael Jackson’s ‘Black or White‘. This is a band that will surely have a big future ahead and it may have been their first time playing in Liverpool but hopefully it won’t be their last.

Mint are in the midst of their Heroin tour and topped the bill for what was their first time performing in Liverpool too. After being well and truly warmed up by the previous three acts, it didn’t take much for the crowd to take to the Grimsby lads quirky and vibrant persona.

It was an intimate setting for the band and it didn’t go unnoticed as the charismatic lead singer, Zak Rashid thanked those in attendance for coming out and making the night special for the band but then with the tongue in his cheek said no one needed to be so far away and to come closer and have fun with the band.

The music was loud, fun and just left a smile on your face as the band swept The Magnet away in the final performance of the night. Wether it was just cos of the cheery manner of the songs, or the wit and charm of Rashid in between songs, it was a set that was bringing a night filled with great talent to a happy end.

Their set culminated with two tracks named after people, the first, their latest single, ‘Elise‘, the song that’s pulled Mint into the spotlight and gained a lot of attention. A sun-soaked vibe that you could imagine listening to out loud on those long summer days but for now it was just as good hearing it downstairs in The Magnet on a windy, spring night. Easy to sing along to with it’s catchy chorus, it was a good way to brace us for an emotional end to the show.

The last song ‘Jimmy‘ gripped you with it’s emotion, it was the first time that Mint brought you into a more sombre mindset as you could feel the pain within it. When the song peaked and barraged us with waves of intense instrumentals before returning to its chorus again, you could see that it was about someone close, as the passion in the band as they played really shone through. It was a stunning way to bring their first performance in Liverpool to an end. We asked to find out more about the song afterwards, Zak had to say that “it’s about my cousin, he got me into music and he died about 6 years ago now”. With that in mind, it explains just why this song felt so raw and passionate when closing out the night.

Do you love indie as much as we do? Enjoy going to gigs at the Arts Club or catching a band play in the O2 Academy? Then you should join the team! JACKS are looking for writers and if the above sounds like you then click here and get in touch!