Sunglasz Vendor: just another rock band at The Shacklewell Arms?

Certainly not. The band who graced this well-trodden stage were outrageously talented and gave a performance that far exceeded many others I have seen there. Sunglasz Vendor (say it out loud!) perplexed me with their unique blend of slacker-rock and speak-easy lyrics which trailed down a plethora of other directions in an adventurous thirty minutes.

‘Slack’ is certainly the first word that sprung to mind as they rolled through the first song, lulling our heads with their rustic guitar-play and the unassuming vocals of frontman Rafi Cohen. His words came from a place of sweet self-depreciation, framing the music as an ode to those witty and wry observances we all make about our flaws in life. Pixies and Pavement pop up as obvious influences, but Sunglasz Vendor dive into a world much closer to home, an even more relatable one to us bleak island-dwellers. Rafi explores forearm rashes, having no job post-uni whilst ‘hurting constantly’, and waiting obediently in the ‘casting call for enemies’. The tone is almost humorous in its lack of severity and evokes a sense of optimism in the music not explored by other artists who perhaps take their travesty too seriously.

Don’t let these ultra-relatable lyrics fool you, though. Sunglasz Vendor are as explosive as they are easy, shaking the room under their thunderous three-piece outfit. By the end of the first song, we were in face-melting territory, and suddenly the band are reminding me of The White Stripes if Jack White’s combustible guitar solos were matched with an equally erratic and almighty drummer behind the kit.

It is rare for The Shacklewell Arms to swoon over the drummers hidden behind its obstructive archway, however much the venue tries to light up the stage, but this drummer stole quite a few glances with their off-time solos which perfectly matched the energy of the guitar. At one point they ran around the kit whilst hitting every drum at their disposal, stealing the show to some extent, and I was enthralled by their ability to switch tempo back into the sweet, slacker-esque world we initially fell for.

Through moulding different influences together throughout their set, Sunglasz Vendor built up to a few big moments where the lyrics felt particularly poignant. The final song erupted into a lyric during the chorus: ‘Nothing is easy’, which struck a deeper chord, along with some hints at a plaintive reminiscence of past love:

‘You’d do fine to wonder what first got you into me.’

Beneath an unassuming exterior, this band are a magnificent force, with gut-wrenching guitars and masterful drumming. But perhaps most salient of all are the lyrics, which, after inviting you into the safe and ordinary, reveal simply powerful truths that you might find yourself pondering for days, and coming back for more.