Only Real at Ace Hotel

A self-proclaimed “baby music for babies” maker on his Facebook page, Only Real – whose real name is Niall Galvin – is an up-and-coming young musician from London. Prior to his gig at Field Day on Saturday, he played with his band at Ace Hotel last night to a small but lively crowd.

Only Real’s music is actually hard to define but it’s got that different sound that makes it interesting and worth a listen. A mash-up of rap and 90s alternative, all of the tunes feature distorted and reverberated melodies on which the artist juxtaposes his sharp lyrics. The result is an odd combination of feel-good summer vibes echoing in the background while the singer spits in-your-face words about real, ordinary, simple life.

Galvin is a bit of a crazy kid, especially on stage. Instead of taking his relatively small baggage of experience and turning it into yet another lamentable, deprecating work, he’d rather keep a fresh, naïve outlook on life, which allows him not to take anything too seriously and joke about it all. What he gets in return is a mixed audience, split between those who are curious enough to attend his concert but still a bit uncertain whether he’s got what it takes, and those who have his same “I don’t care” attitude and are there basically to take in the positive sensations coming from the music and just move their bodies in a sort of psychedelia.

Only Real performed for approximately 45 minutes, playing songs like Cinnamon Toast, Get it On, Punks and Potions, Backseat Kissers and the single Cadillac Girl. In spite of some technical difficulties and the fact that Galvin’s voice was often drowned by the instruments, the gig proved successful and a nice preview of what’s to expect from the Field Day show.  If you’re looking for some easy music to loosely dance to, look no further: summer’s coming, enjoy.

Rita Vicinanza
Photos: Erol Birsen

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

Watch the video for Cadillac Girl here: