The Guest List: Something Real- ‘An album that balances Mancunian familiarity with individuality’
When you say the words ‘Manchester Indie Band’, a very particular image and sound comes to mind. One of the most prominent parts of Manchester’s identity is its bands, its boy bands to be specific. But don’t be fooled, there’s no synchronised choreography, no coordinated outfits, no pop harmonies or heartthrob lineups. Instead, its mod cut hair, potent guitar riffs, abstract and depressing lyrics disguised in pub singalong melodies. There’s no point listing the endless musical prodigies that have emerged from the inner sanctum of the Ring Road but you could never have one Manchester boyband without the other. Could you have Courteeners without the Stone Roses? Could you have The 1975 without Joy Division? It’s a domino effect that is unique to the city and I truly believe no other place in the country has such a detectable and distinct sound, so synonymous with the rust-coloured bricks of the Northern Quarter, the dingy alleyways of Deansgate or the council housing of Whythenshaw, Crumpsall or Whalley Range.
So when you’re a group of post-adolescence boys from Altrincham with a knack for the bass and longing lyrics about undefinable relationships, it must be hard to not get tired of the tag that inevitably gets stamped onto you. ‘Who are your influences?’ must get banded around as easily as a greeting. The fact that The Guest List have managed to create an album that balances familiarity with individuality is a real skill mainstream indie lovers are yet to discover.
‘Something Real’ is the band’s debut album, released at the end of August, capturing that melancholy that comes with the change of season and the inevitable dip from the ‘back-to-school’ transition the month brings yet fails to really fulfil any real exciting change when you’ve left school. College acquaintances, Cai, Tom, Leio, Sid, and Angus, make up this fresh faced fivesome that seem to be making their footprint in the indie scene, travelling across the UK performing in record stores, recording videos in Japan, supporting household names like Two Door Cinema Club and The Wombats.
They say the debut mixes ‘personal songs with bigger themes like anxiety, climate collapse and public outrage’. The lyrics across the album seem a bit at odds with the band’s background. Grammar school graduates living in the apex of South Manchester, yet they sing of apocalypse imagery, political decline and complex relationships in a way that sounds like they’ve been around for decades. But their cry of instability is a well-heard voice identifiable to many young people, even those not students or in the workplace. It has the perfect balance of indie pop with yearning rock and slow, reflective ballads that blend to make an easy, repeatable listening experience.
Frontman, Cai, said in an interview that ‘Sick Animal’ is the track he believes distinguishes The Guest List from any other band. It is a track that has grown on me. With the refrain ‘Babe, I’ve never seen you look so tired’, the melody parallels this with a lethargic quality, followed by Cai’s strong vocals crying out the titulus phrase. My personal favourite on the album is ‘Pink’ with its jaunty tune that seems fit for head bopping and Molly Ringwald-like kicking in a crowd. Manchester boys seem to have a particular affliction for ‘Sally’s, with Angus calling this the bands best song. The final track on the album was one I often skipped at first but since coming back to the album time and time again, it leaves the listener with that hankering for something better, something bigger or you could say… something real. Perhaps the same feelings of five boys on the cusp of musical success yet still living in their childhood town feel.
The band’s success seems to be picking up, with them being top of the bill for Neighbourhood Festival in Manchester, having their song ‘She’s Not Around’ featured in the movie Finding Emily and are about to take off on a UK wide tour. They feel like one of those bands you want to keep a secret, lest their ticket prices jump tenfold. A pulsing floor in a packed Manchester student bar seems like the ideal setup to dance away the fuck-ups of the adults outside.
‘Something Real’ is most undoubtedly one of my favourite albums of the year and I wouldn’t be surprised if my Spotify Wrapped reflected this as such. I’m going to see them in November for one of the last shows of their tour and I’m excited to see if the crowd think they’re going to see just another The Smiths tribute act or cry the lyrics with an unrest that they too identify with, just like generations before.