by Jacob Wingate-Bishop

Splendid Fred has been a bit quiet of late. Blame writer’s block, a dissertation, a downturn in collective creativity. Who really knows? So, what’s happened since last we spoke? I went to see Def Leppard and Motley Crue, live, on the same night. I watched the hotly anticipated Oppenheimer on the big screen. I even got my hands on a new, limited-edition box set from Ghost. But if there’s one thing sure to dust off the cobwebs and end my literary absence, it’s a Teenage Waitress gig.

Teenage Waitress (off the stage made up of one-man band, Daniel Ash) released his latest record, Your Cuckoo, back in June, marking somewhat of a departure from the pure electro-pop sound of Love & Chemicals, his 2020 debut. In the hype since, Ash has taken his anthems across the country, performing intimate record store shows; even playing at the esteemed Banquet Records in London.

Last Saturday, though, Ash got the chance to fill the Heartbreakers in Southampton, a cosy independent music venue, where the beers flowed, floors became sticky, and minds were melted by unadulterated, guitar-led odes from an infatuated cynic.

It marked one of the first occasions where Ash had a full band behind him, allowing these sprawling, often intricate electro-melodies and indie rock tunes to come alive. Opening for the band were The Latest, warming up the crowd with a slew of infectious material, Cure covers ‘n’ all. This likewise local group proved an effortlessly ingestible force of rock ‘n roll, before handing over to a supercharged Ash.

Teenage Waitress opened with ‘Primary Colours’, a deep cut and personal favourite from Love & Chemicals, carrying off the at-points-ethereal track with ease, before segueing into possibly the album’s biggest, ‘The Mess You Made Me Make’. Ash has been a longtime fan of unpredictable music, so no wonder the group then treated us to the five-minute jam, ‘Baby Blue’, which opens Your Cuckoo.

‘Back Seat’, one of the singles off the new record, is nigh-impossible to recreate live, so they didn’t. Instead, the song saw a stripped-back, more melodic approach that was just as catchy as what’s on the disc. ‘We sent this one off to Chas & Dave, but they didn’t want it,’ joked Ash, teasing the next offering, ‘Too Much of a Good Thing’.

Teenage Waitress rifled through more of their ‘early stuff’, including self-professed favourite from Daniel, ‘TRAK!TRAK!TRAK!’. ‘Big Smoke’, from LP2, was a playful poke at class and hierarchy, condensed into a catchy, three-minute anthem, with the main set closing on new staples, ‘Hold Me in the Afternoon’ and ‘Salutations’.

‘We’re not gonna bother leaving the stage for a fake encore,’ said Ash in typical, lovably awkward fashion, giving the band reprieve as he belted out lead single ‘Grey Sky’ solo style. ‘I Like the Way You Fall in Love’ and ‘Bedroom Waltz’, signature Teenage Waitress tunes in content and candour, closed out an already staggeringly strong set, especially given the group’s two album strong catalogue.

But without doubt, the highlight of that night at the Heartbreakers was ‘Disconnect’ – the first taste of a third record already in the works – a ‘90s inflected, pop-tastic groover that’s sure to get even the most devout indie-heads moving and shaking. It marks yet another shift for the Southampton-born Ash, but one he’s clearly got to grips with already, forgoing the standard ‘prototype album phase’ of many bigger bands. Suddenly, all the idols and influences on Ash become clear, as he weaves synth-pop bedroom tunes, 2000s indie rock anthems and quasi-Britpop with the focus and mastery of a seasoned magician.

The full band also reminded us of why live music is so important. It’s not just about the music itself – which both bands delivered in glittering bucketful’s – but the collective joy, elation, drunken chants, familiar faces, freshly-sparked friendships and smiles. The interactions between act and audience, the laughs, cheers, moments of awe and blurry photographs. Last Saturday, down at the Heartbreakers, there was plenty of that to go ‘round.