My second live sighting of Keeley, and another triumph, albeit in this case with a rather less frenetic audience than that encountered in Manchester on their first English mini-jaunt.

Thirty miles further North West in the heart of Lancashire, I missed hometown act Dead Things, but heard dead good things about them later, and was certainly impressed by Blackpool’s Sweet Knuckle, a three-piece of some pedigree, linked back to Factory acts Section 25 and Tunnelvision (a former support act to Joy Division and New Order, don’t ya know). Singing drummer they had, but Genesis they were not, angular grooves bringing to mind in places a little Wire for these ears, even if the bass player’s jacket with pushed up sleeves suggested late-’70s US power pop. The dance floor could have been busier, but two-thirds of the headliners – out front – were giving it some shapes at least.

After the on the edge drama of Keeley’s performance at Aatma in Manchester last time around (with my review here) – a venue they returned to the previous night – this was a comparatively laidback affair, audience-wise, but the band were no less impassioned from where I was standing, the audience invited to budge up a bit closer at one stage to bring on the intimacy. On a short tour that started with a support role to rightly loved reformed mid-‘80s blues-punk mavericks the Folk Devils at London’s 100 Club – this performance was followed by a night at Birmingham’s Sunflower Lounge then a return to the capital to play Camden’s renowned Dublin Castle. And six months on from my first Keeley live experience there’s been a line-up change, the band now a threesome (although word has it that Dublin-based keyboard player Marty ‘Mani’ Canavan still fills in from time to time), the eponymous Keeley Moss (guitar, vocals) now relocated from the Irish capital to these shores, closer to co-driver ‘Lukey Foxtrot’ Mitchell (bass) and Andrew Paresi (drums), the latter now in Tom Fenner’s place, his past credits including the first three Morrissey albums and work with producer Stephen Street.

The slightly slimmed-down set-up certainly worked well, the unit somehow more in your face, while a few electronic pedal effects kind of suggested a far grander ensemble than met the eye. In fact, I was getting keyboards in my head much of the night, in that way you do when you know a fair amount of the songs being served up, instinctively weaving them in. And what is it about that three-piece dynamic that proves the worth of a band? Think of The Jam, or Hugh Cornwell’s current trio. There’s proper gritty power there and no hiding places, in this case with plenty of luscious dreampop/rock in the mix. What you get is what you put in, and this trio certainly put something in.

Also, there must be something about this venue that helps acts turn it up a notch or two. When I think about the bands I’ve seen there in recent times, they often defy expectations. Take for instance intense performances by fellow dynamic trio Girls in Synthesis in 2018 and both Pip Blom and The Woodentops in 2022, all providing nights to remember, the latter on a bill including The Amber List, a locally-based trio that similarly pared down and somehow ended up all the mightier.

Set-wise, there were a few additions and changes to that I witnessed six months ago, but they started as last time with ‘Last Words’, from debut EP, Brave Warrior, albeit with technical gremlins – Andrew having to reconfigure his drum kit, giving Ms Moss the opportunity to tell us all about her muse and just where she’s coming from and travelling to, setting the scene, ever the broadcaster.

Techie issues addressed, they cracked on, further non-LP track ‘Where the Monster Lives’ from the Drawn to the Flame mini-LP seeing Lukey’s thumping bass and Andrew’s thudding beats proving a neat foundation for K’s Banshee-like guitar licks and often intense vocal phrasing, us punters soon lost in the moment.

Talking of muses, we were then introduced to recent set addition ‘Inga Hauser’, namechecking the German 18-year-old so cruelly robbed of her life on a solo European backpacking trip 36 years ago, all the songs dedicated and inspired by this tragic Munich teen that Keeley has set her life’s work on commemorating and keeping in the public eye (with a little background here for those not in the know, from my July 2021 feature-interview).

The indie (as in industrial in this case) dance of ‘Forever Froze’ and ‘Scratches on Your Face’ also helped set the scene perfectly, our guests in their own late ’80s bubble, fitting the overriding theme. And in that world, I reckon Lukey is the bass player I felt I was in my head back then, channelling Andy Rourke in places, the band chemistry clearly bringing out the best in the taskmaster to his right, with hints in her playing of earlier influences I’d not previously paid so much attention to, among them John McGeoch, Steve Severin and Keith Levine.

Ahead of the melodic ‘Railway Stations’ – yep, six songs in and still nothing from the debut Dimple Discs long player – she spoke of her first Preston visit, a brief stop-off at the station as part of a European rail trip retracing Inga’s steps, en route to Inverness at that point, in her case 30 years after that devastating incident. Of course, with such grim subject material you need plenty of light, and the music provides that at every turn, as do the ever engaging Keeley and forever cheery Lukey out front, their easy banter and clear passion for great music (our bass hero has his own electronica project too, under the name Lukey Foxtrot, as advertised on Keeley’s t-shirt) adding a little inspirational something.

Admittedly, there’s a feeling that Keeley overshares sometimes, arguably diluting the power of the song, but she’s determined to get the message across, and however you stand on that the four songs that followed did their own talking, a poignant, dreamy ‘To A London Sunrise’ followed by three more winning cuts from last year’s Floating Above Everything Else, the band in full blissed-out flow now, audience and band alike on a transcendental journey, ‘Seeing Everything’, ‘Forever’s Where You Are’ and ‘Arrive Alive’ ensuring we remained on those soaring heights.

The latter track was perhaps my favourite on the night, its Bizarro-era Wedding Present-like bass riff met with a Lush vocal delivery, so to speak. Above all else, to take that LP analogy further, the smiles on the band’s faces at those moments of sheer blissful musical chemistry spoke volumes, their set brought to a fitting end by another newbie, ‘Trans-Europe 18’, on a night when they further extended their sonic reach, this latest mini-tour keeping flames burning ahead of a second long player set to be ready before the year is out, Keeley’s profile set to grow again in 2025… on screen and on record. Watch this space, cats.

Keeley Moss and Andrew Paresi are taking part in the Manchester Festival’s Andy Rourke fundraiser concert in aid of The Christie Charity on May 17/18 at the Star & Garter, close to Piccadilly station, as part of tribute band Rourke in an event hosted by author Julie Hamill (with ticket information here).

You can follow Keeley on social media via Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Spotify And to check out Lukey Foxtrot, head to his Soundcloud link here.