The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema & Tv
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
      • Shows
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMusicLive music

Only Real at Shacklewell Arms

Only Real at Shacklewell Arms | Live review
29 November 2013
Alexandra Sims
Avatar
Alexandra Sims
29 November 2013

Hailed as the next big thing, Only Real’s rise to fame has been truly catapulting. Only a year ago the sub-pop wonder was an entirely mysterious figure, yet now with new EP Days in the City and a signing to Virgin EMI just last week, it appears that Only Real is poised for greatness. The man behind this hype is 22-year-old Niall Galvin from West London.  Producing his songs on a faulty computer in his bedroom he is a rousing success story of the DIY-demo generation.

This evening’s show at Shacklewell Arms marked one of only a handful of Galvin’s live concerts in the capital, his career taking off instead from the recorded singles he has tantalisingly released online over the past year. Filled to the brim with bright young things, all eager to hear a piece of the latest music trend, the room buzzes with a youthful energy. This adolescent fever is a driving force within Only Real’s music. Naming his sound as “baby music for babies”, his tracks ring with a playful vigour as he tells tales of London’s suburban youth culture in fresh, gritty colloquialisms. Tonight Galvin is joined by three band members, introduced as “Meredith Hammond”, “Fred. Just Fred” and “pretty Ian”.  “We’re about to take you to outer space and back again,” Galvin screams and we are certainly not disappointed.

Punks and Potions, the first track from Days in the City, begins the set; its metallic guitar chiming easily to a soft 80s drumbeat marked with discordant piano inflections. A strong funk vibe permeates Backseat Kissers which drifts along dreamily, the swooping guitar and jingling piano chords complementing Galvin’s falsetto choruses. Despite only playing a short time together Only Real are an impeccably tight band demonstrated in their thundering cover of the Hawaii Five-O theme.

It’s Galvin’s dazzling charisma, however, which really makes the show. He jokes around delivering funny lines and playing spurts of Little Wayne to the audience, accentuating each song with pelvic thrusts and dizzy twirls. His malleable vocals turn from muted falsetto to hyperbolic rap in seconds and he expertly navigates the shrieking screams and sharp syllables of new single Get It On.

Only Real’s live show is an extravaganza of juvenile dramatics, hypnotic hip hop influences and psychedelic, retro beats. His talent is astounding and it’s a certainty that we will be hearing more from him in the near future.

Alexandra Sims
Photo: Alexandre K

For further information and future events visit Only Real’s website here.

Watch the video for Get It On here:

Related Itemslive musicreview

More in Live music

Bicep at Saatchi Gallery Online

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Laura Mvula – Under a Pink Moon

★★★★★
Sylvia Unerman
Read More

Tom Grennan live in concert – online

★★★★★
Georgie Cowan-Turner
Read More

The Cinematic Orchestra at the Southbank Centre

★★★★★
Dan Meier
Read More

Vienna New Year’s Day Concert at the Musikverein

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Rufus, Martha and Lucy Wainwright Present: A Not So Silent Night “Virtually Together”

★★★★★
Francis Nash
Read More

Pete Tong and the Heritage Orchestra: Ibiza Classics – O Come All Ye Ravers at the O2 Arena Online

★★★★★
Dan Meier
Read More

Courtney Barnett live from the Royal Exhibition Building Melbourne

★★★★★
Georgie Cowan-Turner
Read More

Gorillaz: Song Machine Live

★★★★★
Sylvia Unerman
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • I’m Your Man (Ich bin dein Mensch)
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • The Girl and the Spider (Das Mädchen und die Spinne)
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Celebrate International Women’s Day with a Bombay Sapphire Cocktails & Create masterclass
    Food & Drinks
  • Kings of Leon – When You See Yourself
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Bicep at Saatchi Gallery Online
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Surge
    ★★★★★
    Glasgow
  • The Old Ways
    ★★★★★
    Glasgow
  • Women in film introduce favourite female-directed features for new BFI series on 8th March
    Cinema & Tv
  • WandaVision
    ★★★★★
    disney
  • Censor
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • WandaVision
    ★★★★★
    disney
  • Coming 2 America
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Kings of Leon – When You See Yourself
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The Dissident
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Short Vacation (Jong chak yeok)
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

The City of Strangers by Michael Russell | Book review
Francis and the Lights at London Edition Basement | Live review