Little Green Cars at Vicar Street, Dublin on December 14th 2014

There’s something special about gigs around Christmas. Everybody is in high spirits and willing to dance like crazy, and Sunday night was more exception. Of course, the ever amiable Little Green Cars could make a crowd dance regardless of the time of year.

There’s something overwhelmingly loveable about Little Green Cars. Their manner and stage presence reflect a band that are confident, but still a little bit awkward about it. Stevie Appleby is the only member to really engage with the crowd, but he’s genuinely funny when he does: “There’s not much I can say about Christmas, is there? It’s pretty self-explanatory. Have a good eh, Christmas, I suppose…” At times, it’s like watching your friends performing on stage, which serves to add to the endearment of the band.

‘Absolute Zero’ was released in March 2013, and early on, it’s revealed that the sophomore record is due out in 2015. The show opened with two tracks from the new album, and as a result of this, it took the band a while to find their stride. By the time Harper Lee kicked in, both the crowd and band had settled down, and even the newer songs were met with equal excitement. The harmonies that the band manage to achieve are nothing short of beautiful, and they really serve to elevate each song to another level. Faye O’Rourke and Appleby lead the vocals, flanked by the talented duo of Adam O’Regan and Donagh Seaver O’Leary. The only complaint is that O’Rourke’s microphone was possibly a bit too high, as the others were hard to hear at times. O’Rourke has an incredible voice that needs to be projected to reach it’s full potential, so the fact that her mic was incredibly loud suited songs where her vocals led the pack.

“So, my Dad asked me if there’d be more upbeat songs on the new album.” said Appleby “It was really awkward, because the first track on the new album is called Garden of Death…”. Garden of Death is haunting, featuring gorgeous harmonies that serve to captivate for the entirety. The Consequences of Not Sleeping continues to show why it’s a live favourite, while The Kitchen Floor and Please show off O’Rourke’s incredible vocals once more.

Appleby takes an iPad out at the beginning of the encore, and begins to recite a poem. He introduces it in his typical fashion: “I know I said this was a Christmas poem, but it’s really not. It’s actually a bit chilling. It’s called ‘Cripple Cove’.” Cripple Cove is about a man who lived in a lighthouse who fell asleep on duty, resulting in a ship capsizing. He takes his own life in the lighthouse as he is haunted by the ghosts of those he was responsible for the death of, and leaves a spooky note. It was an unusual inclusion, but it kind of worked for some reason. Appleby is incredibly likeable, and it provides a certain uniqueness to the night.

The set closed with the always impressive My Love Took Me Down To The River to Silence Me, which ended the night on a high. As fans dispersed into the cold December night, the air was filled with talk of the new Little Green Cars album, and how long it’d be until they could be treated to another show like this one.