Gig Review: Spanish Love Songs at Rescue Rooms

It was only back in September that LA-heralding rockers Spanish Love Songs played Rescue Rooms for the first time, that night supporting fellow American emo outfit Hot Mulligan. Shortly after, they announced their own UK tour dates in support of their anthemic third album No Joy, with a date at The Bodega scheduled. In no time at all, the venue was upgraded to Rescue Rooms’ bigger capacity and now on the evening of the show, it’s a complete sell out.

Tuesday is student club night and with three acts on the bill, it means it’s an early start. Sometimes the after-work rush can be to the detriment of an opening act, but we arrive at Rescue Rooms to a nearly-full room for tonight’s only UK-based band, SUDS. We only manage to catch the last couple of songs but it's enough to make an impression, with the bellowing final refrain of Freckle (“Feels like I’ve wasted my whole life again!”), left reverberating around the room. They then exit the stage for a post-set meet and greet, advertising that they will be selling their own homemade candles over at the merch table – a nice touch. 

It's at this point I notice some new signs that have gone up around Rescue Rooms, all plastered with “SUPPORT THE SUPPORT”. It states that the venue has extended their happy hour until 8pm to encourage music-goers to get in early for the opening bands. It’s fantastic to see these initiatives being put in place for the new year to aid up-and-coming artists and hopefully it gets more early footfall through the doors. After all, with cheap drinks and excellent acts like punk-rock ensemble Heart Attack Man - the next band to take the stage - there’s really no excuse not to get down promptly.

They open with a bang on the siren-life riffs of Leap Year, with frontman Eric Egan sporting an “EVIL DOER” shirt as he bounces about the stage. “It is cold tonight – I think this might be the coldest show of all time” he states sarcastically, as they pummel through Pitch Black, Out For Blood and Old Enough To Die, encouraging the crowd to move around in order to stay warm. “This one’s for all the jokesters” announces Egan as they launch into Clown School, only really stopping between songs to crush their empty cans of Jack Daniels.

With the crowd enthusiastically getting involved for C4, Cut My Losses and Like A Kennedy, they end their triumphant support set with a rousing performance of their latest album’s title track, Freak of Nature. It may have been their first time in Nottingham but based on the number of Heart Attack Man shirts spotted in the crowd, they will be sure to return soon.

By the time headliners Spanish Love Songs are due on stage, the room is completely packed out – the busiest I can remember seeing Rescue Rooms for a while. Walking out to the sweet sounds of Lana Del Rey’s version of Doin’ Time, the place erupts as frontman Dylan Slocom announces “We’re Spanish Love Songs from Los Angeles California – thanks for being here” before immediately dropping into the buzzy riffs of Lifers. 

It’s safe to say Dylan wasn’t prepared for the Nottingham choir in the audience tonight as he is noticeably stunned following the thunderous word-for-word singalong to Losers, a cut from their breakout sophomore album Brave Faces Everyone. “Nottingham holy sh*t, what is going on?!” he asks, before following up with some iconic words of approval for us 90s kids: “That’ll do Pig”.

This unbreakable connection between the band and the audience remains the most magical aspect of the performance throughout, with everyone loudly singing along in unison to recent singles Clean-Up Crew and Pendulum. “This is a beautiful crowd – there’s a guy crying at the back, there’s someone moshing with their shirt off down here – we love our fans” says Dylan and, based on these extremely contrasting reactions, I’d say the feeling is mutual. “We love playing the UK because you guys make music better than anyone – shout out SUDS. This next song isn’t for them though, it’s about heroin.” It’s a hilariously awkward segway into the aptly-titled Kick, which gets another huge reaction. 

After some stirring renditions of Mutable and Here You Are, there’s then a funny mishap during Buffalo Buffalo where Dylan miscues the pedal that has replaced absent bassist Trevor, effectively spoiling the song’s soaring final drop. “I swear this never happens – I wish Trevor was on this stage right now” a sheepish Dylan states. Then after getting the crowd to wish a brief Happy Birthday to drummer Ruben Duarte, the band finish the main set strongly on their cathartic No Joy big-hitters, with more impassioned singalongs to Marvel, Haunted and Re-Emerging Signs of the Apocalypse. 

“Let’s pretend we went off and you all said nice things” says Dylan, choosing to abandon the tired encore routine. “This has been our best show in a long while – thanks to you all for being here” he says, before closing things out emphatically with the one-two combo of Routine Pain and Brave Faces Everyone.

Spanish Love Songs’ makes music which gets under your skin, connects with you on a deeply emotional level, and then refuses to leave your being. Therefore, it’s easy to see how they have gained such a devoted following in such a short space of time, with their music providing the perfect soundtrack for the post-COVID times. Believe it or not, it’s not too long before they’ll be back in Nottingham again, with the band due to support The Gaslight Anthem at Rock City in July. If you’re going to that show then make sure you get down early to catch them and if you can’t make it, don’t worry – I have a feeling Spanish Love Songs will be headlining Rock City themselves soon enough.

Spanish Love Songs performed at Rescue Rooms on 16 January 2024

@spanishlovesongs