With former members of The Dentists in the band, Chatham’s Treasures of Mexico were always going to light up the 100 Club this past Saturday. Their penchant for sun kissed tunes displayed in full force as they supported the legendary Jasmine Minks and The Claim.
From opener ‘Holding Pattern’ to set closer ‘She’ll Never Get Over Me’, the Kent outfit hit a sweet spot, effortlessly rumbling along like The Feelies, circa ‘Good Earth’. With Bob Collins on lead guitar, they had the ability to step out from the shadows of gentle indie. Whether it’s Weller on the attack or the effortless psyche-jangle of the Fanclub’s Norman Blake on ‘Avalanche’ or ‘The Last Thing’, it’s clear Collins still has the “it” factor.
During ‘The Last Thing’ and ‘She’ll Never Get Over Me’, front man Mark Matthews threatens a Mark E Smith menace that doesn’t quite materialise. It’s a tantalising piece of brilliance. As the melodic sunshine unfurled, an angst loitered and had the crowd on tenterhooks. The not knowing whether a punk fury was going to breakout of these perfect pop songs was exhilarating.
It’s on ‘Supercute’ where everything comes together for them. Matthews has tapped in to the romanticism of Spector girl groups and Lawrence from Felt, Collins has licks and solos to redefine the C86 movement and in Secret Affair drummer Russ Baxter, they have a melodic beat keeping behemoth.
You will be hard pressed to find a band this good, third on the bill of any gig for the rest of the year.
*Image courtesy of https://twitter.com/akumulator_uk