Tim Hughes enjoys a fix of Californian soul and country-rock from the stunning Treetop Flyers

  • Treetop Flyers
  • Bullingdon, Oxford
  • October 9, 2016

It’s a fresh autumn evening with a distinct chill in the air, but in a packed Oxford backroom we are basking in the heat of a Californian summer.

The Treetop Flyers may be based in London, but are pure LA, bringing with them a searing blast of West Coast sunshine, grit, angst and the tang of gasoline and imminent madness.

Frontman Reid Morrison has acquired a cult following in Oxford, partly born of hard work and great writing. But, more than that, it’s down to the passion and sense of abandon that he throws into his music. When Reid picks up that battered guitar and sings, he enters another place.

He looks alone in the room; it doesn’t matter whether we are there or not; this is a man not just expressing his inner-most thoughts but roundhousing them to the back of the room. And we, for our part, hang on them – nodding sagely or breaking into dance. Oh, and having a drink and a laugh – because that’s what Treetop Flyers are all about. This is not music to stoke your chin to; it’s not the opera... it's party fuel!

The ecletic crowd featured fans, fresh-faced teenagers, familiar Oxford rogues, fellow musicians and converts attracted by the band’s sets at Cropredy, Wilderness and Glastonbury, and their engaging debut album The Mountain Moves.

Starting with Sleepless Nights, we are taken on a rattling roller-coaster ride of acid-dipped psychedelia, pin-drop folk, slabs of shimmering Americana, and swaggering soulful rock reminiscent of The Doors; Sam Beer’s virtuoso guitar and keys work threading through the melodies, while Reid sings, eyes-closed or starring blankly, baring his soul, arms outstretched, like his heart is breaking.

The crowd jolt into recognition for She’s Gotta Run, Haunted House and album opener Things Will Change, but it’s the new material which really grabs, seeing them edge into prog and psych-rock. Latest single Dance Through The Night is a spangled stunner; a fusion of Santana and Reid’s namesake Jim, evoking wired nocturnal drives along 10-lane freeways. Or even the Westway or North Circular.

They encore with What Can You Do, and leave us craving more. Upbeat and radiating human warmth and a touch of insanity, this is addictive stuff. And we are hooked.

5/5

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