Treetop Flyers performed at The Joiners on Monday 18th April in a venue that felt very apt for such an up-and-coming band.
Popular with festival crowds, the London quintet opened with ‘Fairytales’ and ‘Lullabies’, which with its “I’m down here and you are still up there” line is about death and how the living have to keep going after death. It’s a theme of the album, of light from darkness, and hope coming from despair. ‘Sleepless Nights’ followed, showing their West Coast musical influences, asking “did the velvet curtain fall on another empty hall?”, with the influence in their music not tacky or copied, but carried well.
Woodstock 1969 vibes are easily heard in their music, with Reid’s vocals and their harmonies. Their self-written songs mix electric undertones with melodic acoustic guitars, and for a relatively young 21st century band, they work their influences incredibly effectively into their music.
The tour was for their just-launched album Palomino, which was described by them as a ‘therapeutic’ album to make. Some songs took a while to grow on me through the gig – ‘Lady Luck’ starts as a pretty downbeat song and despite its growth, with additional flutes, piano and guitar by the end, it just wasn’t for me. But just a few songs after, the T-Rex inspired guitar and amazing vocals in ‘It’s a Shame’ brought me back to it. Some songs had incredible vocals, strong basslines and at times the atmospheric guitar and piano sounded appropriate for the mood of the song.
The gig was populated by a variety of people, their music appealing and accessible to a wide audience. Their country and folk inspired music had even me involved, the person who always proclaims their disdain for it. Their harmonies and solos throughout had me hooked, and their blending of styles from country to synth pop (psychedelia and The Doors heard in ‘Dance Through the Night’ had me covering my Snapchat story with it) had the whole venue engaged with them.
With the versatility and substance in their music, it’s no wonder they’ve picked up such a following. They are sure to be found at festivals throughout the summer.
