Right – cards on the table – I bet me and the missus were the only ones in the crowd at Tapir! on Wednesday night at YES who’d met an actual tapir. Two in fact. Most Certainly the only one who’s who’d met a family of capybaras… As it turned out though, I don’t think such a gloat was a requirement for entry as when we opened the door to the basement, it was to a literal wall of people. A lad at the back of said wall eyed us on approach and said “good luck“, like a character in a video game dropping a one liner ahead of the hero’s plight (in this case, getting any sort of view of the band). After a minute or two, a chance crack in the defence offered the opportunity to make a break for it and we took it with gusto, managing to squeak in at the back.
“So this is looking very 6 Music Dads…” My partner suggested of the packed crowd for the first night of their tour (Tapir! that is, not the BBC dads…) Following the meandering poetry of the old boy who was on as support beforehand, we inevitably sailed past the stage time and as I contemplated missing the last tram, the band thankfully got a wriggle on and before too long arrived to much applause. Bird song and the aural woosh and sway of the sea filled the air as on the interludes that separate the three Acts on the brilliantly titled debut album from Tapir!, ‘The Pilgrim, Their God and The King Of My Decrepit Mountain’ (out at the start of the year on the ever dependable Heavenly Recordings). These transitions on the record are particularly captivating and it was the same on the night, with the twinkling, atmospheric seaside sounds really inviting us into their wee world.
Having only seen the band in their fetching Papier-mâché full head masks on promotional material, I was momentarily gutted to find out they were in fact human, with normal looking heads like the rest of us, rather than giant red featureless domes. It wasn’t all a loss though, as one of the numbers on stage did wear their Papier-mâché head on the opener. It was difficult to grasp how many were on the stage from our vantage, but there was definitely quite a few. With a similar sound to the likes of Black Country, New Road and Caroline, this came as no surprise and is surely a requirement for outfits of their ilk.
Vocalist Ike Gray’s voice had us just as hooked as on record and it was hard not to be taken in by the velvet tones throughout the evening. On early album track ’On A Grassy Knoll, We’ll Bow Together’, Gray’s angelic vocal guided us through in dreamlike fashion, his head back at times, eyes shut, as he drew out its title, making for an invigorating ease into the set early on. Backing vocalist Emily Hubbard had her own star turns too, her solo part on ‘Untitled’ making hairs on necks stand to attention throughout the room. Her combined vocal with Gray on the hushed ‘Eidolon’ was just as heartstopping.
There were murmurings from the crowd but for the most part everyone was well behaved, lost in the vibe being dished out. A couple in front of us got a proper sway on during the hypnotic build of ‘The Nether (Face To Face)’, the group vocal having this listener almost floating above everyone else in the room. The band were very charming in their brief introductions – “This one’s about water”, “This one’s about sand” – though not everyone was quite so comfortable in the packed out room. “The views shit isn’t it?” An old feller near us announced to his mate, the same old boy who at times was literally pounding his fist into his palm to a beat that was purely his. On the flip side though, the whispered backing vocals from the crowd on the tremendous ‘My God’ would bring a tear to a glass eye.
We went to hear the record in full and I’m fairly sure we heard the lot (with a wee switch-up of the order – which was absolutely welcomed when ‘My God’ came in early). Debut album ‘The Pilgrim, Their God and The King Of My Decrepit Mountain’ completely captured us from the get-go, a record we’ve struggled not to listen to in full whenever it goes on. Judging by their exit from stage on the night being drowned out by rapturous applause, I should think the sold out crowd were pleased with that. Bigger room next time, please!
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