THE COLA JET SET & THE SCHOOL

THE MOTH CLUB 
Hackney, London
Saturday 2nd April 2016


Elefant is a really good record label, with a great mix of Indie bands signed. Tonight was a bit of a showcase for them, and on the bill were two bands we had first experienced at the International Pop Overthrow and have seen a couple of times since.

From Barcelona, The Cola Jet Set have a bit of a girl group sound, but with crunchy guitars. Anna was on lead vocals tonight, reprising the role she left a few years ago as the current singer was unable to travel to the UK. It did not matter that their songs are in Spanish, you get the feel good, happy vibe from every beat and every note and you cannot stop you feet from tapping, and your head from bobbing along.

The Cola Jet Set

Their songs are short, sharp and punchy, with hand claps and harmony. The first part of their set was a selection from their back catalogue and the second half, had songs from their new album, which were rockier and sounded great.

They seemed to have a good fan base who travelled with them, so the space in front of the stage was packed, and a few people were dancing. A great set, and they really seemed to enjoy themselves as much as the enthusiastic audience too.

The School

The main act on the bill were Welsh band, The School.Wearing a t-shirt that said "Writing Songs is For Girls",  Liz, who writes most of the songs, has been transported from The Brill Building and Phil Spector's studio!

Their set was their debut album "Loveless Unbeliever" from start to finish. The gig was running late so The School took to the stage later than planned, and conscious of time and the fact that people had to catch trains home, there was little in the way of chit chat between songs as the band worked through the album, but that didn't matter.


The album's 60's influenced sound was recreated on stage with the help of the usual keyboard, guitars and drums and also 2 violins, a bit of percussion, a trumpet and some lush backing vocals. The drummer was really good, and even threw a couple of extra things in that seemed to be a bit unexpected, but worked!

Liz behind the drum kit

It was a great gig, the sound and balance was very good, even more so when you consider the number of instruments being played.