Various Cruelties at the Mercury Lounge

Various Cruelties is largely the project of Liam O’Donnell, a distant relative of Oscar Wilde. He met guitarist Adam Coney, bassist Beanie Bhebhe and drummer Dean Valentine in London in September 2010, and in December they performed their first concert. Various Cruelties received early recognition from a self-released single, “If It Wasn’t for You," which later was used in a Zales Jewelry holiday commercial in 2012. The band’s cover of Ian Brown’s “F.E.A.R.” is currently being used as the trailer for the HBO series Banshee. Various Cruelties is on its first US tour.

At the Mercury Lounge tonight, O’Donnell ‘s songs did not stray very far from his singer-songwriter roots, but he delivered his songs with a soulful delivery that made Various Cruelties’ music a pop and soul incarnation. The British quartet fused classic British guitar pop with Stax grooves to create a Motown-influenced pop. O’Donnell occasionally strummed an electric guitar, but more often he put it aside to crouch at the edges of the stage as he summoned the emotions he wanted to pour into his performance. This was a fine debut, and will draw attention from the fans of Arctic Monkeys, Train, Neon Trees and other radio-friendly music.