I’d never heard of Loquat before. Turns out it’s a little fruit - as everyone from California, or anyone who’s grown up somewhere sunny or tropical will tell you. Music wise, it’s a San Francisco electropop band that a friend recommended. So I went to check them out during their residency at Cafe du Nord this month.

Like the fruit they named themselves after, Loquat’s music is sweet, sometimes with a bitter twist. Their set was a mix of material from their new album, Secrets of the Sea, and their first, It’s Yours to Keep.

Sugary, sultry vocals from Kylee Swenson were wrapped around bouncy basslines and shimmering guitars, a bit like Rilo Kiley at the more melodic, singalong points or Cat Power in a few soaring, emotion-soaked moments. The overall effect was mellow and easy to swallow - smooth, radio friendly hooks and warm (I hate this word but that’s totally what they were) ‘grooves’. It wouldn’t make you run round the room pumped with energy for a groundbreaking new sound, but it would make you sway, shoulder dance and hit repeat.

Pulling Mark Eitzel from the back of the room was a surprise and a highlight. The lead singer of American Music Club was tonight’s special guest, but clearly had no interest in stealing, or even sharing the limelight. Hiding under a fedora to sing a cover of The Smiths’ There is a "Light That Never Goes Out" silenced the most chatty, text-addicted gig-goers (sheer bloody brilliance). He and Kylee did a beautiful job on the love song before he escaped the stage early, looking sheepish and avoiding the loud round of applause he’d blatantly just earned. Pure class.

Loquat’s superfan in the front row also kept me amused, nearly giving himself whiplash with his vigorous headnodding, and grinning behind his digital camera as he recorded the gig frame-by-frame with love. He’s at every gig, I heard. I passed up the chance to get a personalised insta-poem written for me on the way out, typed up on an old typewriter by a smiley hipster chick with a nose piercing and push-up bra, and took home some catchier-than-the-cold choruses in my head instead.

Loquat Website
Loquat Myspace