You wouldn’t exactly call The Clause subtle — and thank god for that.
On Saturday afternoon at Isle of Wight Festival, the Birmingham four-piece swaggered onstage at the Big Top and delivered the kind of set that makes you wonder why they’re not higher up the bill already.
Opening with ‘Nothing’s As It Seems’, they kicked off with that signature blend of indie bravado and tight, funk-slicked rhythms. It’s music built for big tents, louder-than-you crowds, and frontmen who know exactly how to walk the line between cocky and charismatic. Enter: Peirce McMenamin, who had the crowd eating out of his hand by track two, ‘Fake It’.
By the time they hit ‘Electric’ into ‘Pop Culture’, The Clause had hit a proper groove — think early Arctic Monkeys if they grew up listening to Kasabian and had a disco ball in their rehearsal room. There’s a polish to them now that goes beyond the hometown-hype indie circuit. They’re tighter, bigger, more dangerous.
‘Alisha’ and ‘Fever Dream’ got the strongest reactions — both melodic, massive, and made for screaming back at the band — while ‘I Don’t Care’ and ‘Weekend Millionaire’ flexed their knack for penning riffs that wouldn’t sound out of place on a FIFA soundtrack or blaring out of a too-loud Corsa on a Saturday night.
They wrapped with ‘In My Element’, and it landed like a victory lap. I mean, the crowd were fully won over. The vibe was somewhere between Britpop resurrection and post-lockdown indie euphoria.
The Clause might not have had the biggest slot on Saturday’s line-up, but they played like a band aiming for the top of the poster next time around. If this was your first time catching them, chances are you walked out a fan. If you already were one, you left knowing they’ve levelled up.
No frills. No filler. Just a band sounding exactly like they know their moment’s coming.
MORE IN Music
