Where: Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh
When: 28th Feb 2020
Often you can reach the end of a long week of work, being battered daily by Storm Whatever, when all you want to do is just put your feet up - but not when the temptation of a night at the legendary Sneaky Pete’s is on the cards!
After hearing the buzz and enjoying their early singles, we jumped at the chance to check out the self-confessed Indietronica and genre-busters, Dictator, who took to the stage to perform close to an hours worth of thrilling material.
Releasing only their first single at the end of last year, the new 4-piece made the short trip from West Lothian, a current hot-bed of talent with the likes of Mark Sharp & TBT, The Snuts and a wee guy called Lewis Capaldi (to name a few) all making waves, and tonight proved Dictator will shortly be hot on their heels.
The set was littered with anthemic indie tracks, calling on influences such as Kasabian on opener ‘Days Gone By’ and Primal Scream, most notably on ‘Rubik’s Cube’ which had the intimate venue moving with the added bongo drums, as a nod to the late legendary producer, Andrew Weatherall.
Despite the band only playing a handful of live shows, lead vocalist, Michael Campbell, displayed all the hallmarks of a charismatic and commanding frontman with the crowd lapping up his between-song patter, whether it be to challenge a fan to complete a rubik cube for a t-shirt or a reference to what might be short-lived Instagram Story “Dic Wars” (if your wondering, Kim Jun Un came out on top over Mussolini).
Never afraid to mix it up, the talented group, slowed the tempo down for piano-based ‘Moon Light’ before ramping the mood back up with the synth-heavy ‘Hide and Seek’ and ‘Mirror Mirror’. However, it was the mid-set cover of Billie Eilish’s ‘No Time To Die’ which caught us all by surprise - it’s all too easy to pluck for a safe cover, but here we saw a band push their boundaries and tackle the ambitious Bond anthem. As they say, fortune favours the brave, and here was a prime example! Worth noting, the song was proceeded with a welcomed dig at the majority of UK Festival failing to support new and established female artists, something we and many others also feel strongly about.
With both the amps and smoke machines turned up to eleven, the night came to a euphoric close with both ‘Anthem for a Doomed Youth’ and the exceptional ‘Taped Up’ leaving the sold out crowd in no doubt of the band’s potential. Someone should bottle up that West Lothian water, clearly something in it! - DC
Check out latest single 'Taped Up'
Gig Dates
March 14th @ Head of Steam, Newcastle w/ Mark Sharp & TBT
March 19th @ Yes, Manchester w/ Sour Honey
May 1st-3rd Gig in the Goil, Lochgoilhead