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Nov 09, 2011 By Laura Studarus Photography by Wendy Lynch Redfern Slow Club

Let’s get one thing straight—Slow Club is not twee. Cute, yes. Rebecca Taylor (vocals/guitar/percussion) and Charles Watson (guitar/vocals) look like they stepped out of the world’s most wholesome fashion spread and sing songs with boy/girls harmonies so golden they seem freshly plucked from the 1950s. But twee? Nah. Their performance at the Troubadour last night was anything but precious.

In town to support superb sophomore album, Paradise, Slow Club was supporting First Aid Kit—and thus only allowed a short set. They made the most of it though, opening with “Gold Mountain,” featuring Watson on guitar and Taylor on vocals. It was impressive just how accurate the pair’s voices were. Taylor is a big-voiced belter, her accuracy unaffected even while dancing. The softer of the two voices, Watson played the perfect foil, able to both support Watson’s harmonies, and stand alone on “Horses Jumping.”

The majority of the set was taken from Paradise, however the pair did find time for an older tune called “Only if You’re Certain,” featuring a solo Taylor on guitar. “Am I only the dumb girl?” she joked before dedicating the tune to “stupid bitches out there.”

While the duo’s music was fleshed out with the help of two touring musicians on drum and bass, they admitted that there were still sounds they couldn’t make. “Anyone have a saxophone on them?” Taylor joked before playing “Hackney Marsh.” Plea unanswered, she made duo by mimicking the horn section with awkward—and hilarious—humming.

All too short a set, the audience clapped and seemed eager for an encore—sadly to no avail. Thus is life of an opening band. Come back soon…we’ll be waiting.

Setlist:

1. Gold Mountain

2. Where I’m Waking

3. If We’re Still Alive

4. Horses Jumping

5. Never Look Back

6. Only if You’re Certain

7. Beginners

8. Hackney Marsh

9. Two Cousins

(www.slowclubband.com)