Halifax's Not You helped open the first night of the city's annual Pop Explosion festival with a woozy, hook-filled set that featured awkward noise, a Go-Go's cover and pregnancy goofs.
"Any mistakes tonight, there's somebody living inside me who totally can't play guitar," joked guitarist Stephanie Johns, visibly pregnant but — to the crowd's cheers — completing the set without availing herself of her nearby chair.
Opening with "Mabel" from their self-titled EP, Not You's set fused shoegaze sounds with catchy, memorable melodies. Vocalist Nancy Urich has a way of writing hooks that ever-so-slightly sidestep the obvious or expected notes, making songs like "Pt" and "Soup" novel and engaging. The reverb and guitar riffs carried the weight of things from there, making for a great sounding set — excepting a shrill feedback tone that no one could figure out how to get rid of.
Two highlights of note: a new song with a slow, steady bass riff that was bedding for a wonderfully noisy ebb-and-flow, and a cover of the Go-Go's "Our Lips Are Sealed" ' one that, in lowering the vocals to a lower octave, added a cool melancholy to the song, even as the Marquee Club crowd sang along.
"Any mistakes tonight, there's somebody living inside me who totally can't play guitar," joked guitarist Stephanie Johns, visibly pregnant but — to the crowd's cheers — completing the set without availing herself of her nearby chair.
Opening with "Mabel" from their self-titled EP, Not You's set fused shoegaze sounds with catchy, memorable melodies. Vocalist Nancy Urich has a way of writing hooks that ever-so-slightly sidestep the obvious or expected notes, making songs like "Pt" and "Soup" novel and engaging. The reverb and guitar riffs carried the weight of things from there, making for a great sounding set — excepting a shrill feedback tone that no one could figure out how to get rid of.
Two highlights of note: a new song with a slow, steady bass riff that was bedding for a wonderfully noisy ebb-and-flow, and a cover of the Go-Go's "Our Lips Are Sealed" ' one that, in lowering the vocals to a lower octave, added a cool melancholy to the song, even as the Marquee Club crowd sang along.