The Close Encounter Club: Japanese Television, Balancing Act & Cowboyy
Words by Neve Dawson Photographs by Willow Shields
Brixton. Home to boundless culture, regeneration and avant-garde intergalactic music venues. Quenched with a lime soda and a rather swampy-looking mojito, Willow and I headed through the doors of The Close Encounter Club, to be instantly transported into outer space. The stage, ornamented with plants and retro televisions, was lit by a veil of fairy lights and burnishing neon signs - a singular disco ball and holographic-like projections sporadically deflecting from wall to wall. Without a doubt, the intergalactic interior aligned perfectly with the iron-on alien badges stacked regimentally on the merch table.
Following a live announcement through the venue’s speakers, “please make your way to theatre one, the performance is about to start”, Cowboyy filed out onto the stage, opening guitar riffs and bass lines projecting out from under a mop of curls and bangs. The band blend a mix of electronic and synthesised sounds with ricocheting guitar, imitating cult classics from Dad’s garage to the up-and-coming such as Courting. The vocals are conversational in their delivery, reminiscent of KEG or Dry Cleaning, the band moving through tracks such as “Plastic” into new releases. Salutations and warm wishes for the following bands are proclaimed, all while the frontman looks out into the crowd through the lenses of his Cobain-esque glasses.
One down, two to go. A stampede to the front of the stage welcomes the Manchester-derived Balancing Act. Adorned in anything and everything from pinstripe to fine-tailored jackets, the four-piece sultrily seduces the crowd, the performance reminiscent of early indie rock and Alex Turner’s well-gelled, cigarette-stained quiff. New track “Rabbit Hole” unloads a wonderland mystique into the room, whereas classic tracks such as “All Yours” have lead singer Kai Roberts gliding across the stage ecstatically, his body yielding to each change in rhythm and tempo as he interacts cheekily and flirtatiously with bandmate Jackson Couzens. As a final romantic gesture to adoring fans, following the announcement of the band’s upcoming tour, Roberts mingles himself into the crowd whilst serenading smitten and love-stricken fans with “The Saddest Song I Ever Did Write”.
Space-surf instrumentalists Japanese Television are the final band to perform, blending psych, surf, sci-fi and garage-rock - perfect for fans of Ventures or more vocal bands such as Orielles and Just Mustard. The band’s otherworldliness reflects their fascination with outer space and everything astronomical, making sci-fi vogueish and cool, unlike Ross with his keyboard in that episode of Friends. This evening’s performance imitates perfectly their studio output, due to the band’s use of minimal dubs and preference to all record collectively in one room. With tracks such as “Bumble Rumble” and top track “Bee Cage”, Japanese Television are harmonious in their recital, the band’s movements complimenting the animated and vivacious sways of the crowd.
If you want to know more about our friends at The Close Encounter Club, you can watch archive performances, buy merch and keep up to date with future events here: https://thecloseencounterclub.com/