Simon Aldred is a liar. An outright liar. He blatantly lied to each and every one of us standing before the stage at Dingwalls last night. Opening Cherry Ghost’s first headline show in London, Simon claimed, “I can sing, but not very well!”

As a matter of fact, he sings brilliantly. Aldred’s enigmatic vocals are swarming with romantically poetic lyrics and a captivating croon that silences the room.

Cherry Ghost ease into their set with the indie, mind-melting “Throw Me to the Dogs/Conquered,” that culminates with a mellow trumpet solo and then launch into a rollicking, guitar-fuelled country pop number with “We Sleep on Stones”.

Everything you need to know about Cherry Ghost’s sound is in their band title; it’s romantic, yet haunting; gorgeously sweet, but secretly dark. The five piece band have mastered the art of symphonically melding their instruments to fabricate a field of dreamy, gothic synth pop sounds.

The brimful crowd was highly responsive to their music and kept shouting out song requests, most to which the band would comply with, saying; “See, we’re adaptable! Just like professionals”. Needless to say the audience at Dingwalls were over the moon when they’re ongoing prayers for ‘Mathematics,’ were finally answered towards the end of the set. The debut single from their greatly lauded sophomore album ‘Thirst For Romance’ was certainly a gig highlight.   

Cherry Ghost also treated the audience to a never-before-played tune, which was equally appreciated. Titled ‘False Alarm’, this blissful acoustic harmony strips back all the synth power and complexities, exposing the band’s simply tender nature that they implement so well.  So perfectly executed was the song that it triggered one satisfied woman to shriek at the end of it. This caught Simon Aldred’s attention immediately to which he amusingly responded; “Sporadic squeals eh?” before giving her a friendly smile and casually taking another swig from his bottle of beer.

Simon seemed to form a bond with the audience before him in this intimately small venue, with light hearted banter in between songs and a genuine interest in the slightly drunken crowd’s comments and appraisal.

The English indie rockers delivered a choice selection of songs from both their first album, as well as their latest record ‘Beneath This Burning Shoreline’ and concluded their set with an encored cover of Ce Ce Penniston’s ‘Finally’. 

Cherry Ghost have been busy performing in summer festival slots and touring with the likes of Doves and The Coral, and have certainly earned their place in the spotlight for this autumn headline tour that they are embarking on. You can catch them performing across stages in the UK this month and next.

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SET LIST:
Throw Me to the Dogs/Conquered, Part 2
We Sleep on Stones
A Month of Mornings
Black Fang
Thirst for Romance
False Alarm
Kissing Strangers
Barberini Square
The Night They Buried Sadie Clay
Only a Mother
4am
Diamond in the Grind
Mathematics

People Help the People
Finally