Islet, London Lexington

Islet - image from thisislet.com (the unofficial fansite)

March 5, 2010

I could prepare for writing this review by trawling endlessly, needlessly for track names, photos, and an overview of what the selected few hacks who’ve written about Islet have to say. I did, in fact, and it turns out that more’s been written about their decision – be it because of a lack of recorded material or otherwise – to shun the internet. They have no MySpace, sure, but the fact is that an image-search reveals their appearance, a look at their Last.fm or Songkick page (subject to gig promoters’ efficiency) tells of their upcoming tour-dates and press, just like this, is still filtering through. They’re proof that hometown-phenomena still happen. … Continue Reading

Field Music, London Scala

Field Music

March 3, 2010

Field Music are avant-pop doyens. That sure sounds pretentious but it’s shorthand for “Field Music should be selling out the Royal Festival Hall but audiences’ attention-spans just aren’t big enough to let that happen”. They sell out the Scala no sweat, which marks the well-deserved success of their comeback record Field Music (Measure), but tonight – while a great platform for their instrument-swapping skills, astounding musicianship and general loveliness – lacks magic. … Continue Reading

Archie Bronson Outfit, London Roxy

February 22, 2010

The casual gentleman, taking an evening on stroll along London’s Borough High Street, would be forgiven for noting the Roxy and passing on by, suspecting it to be both expensive and designed to appeal to those Londoners, whoever they might be, who don’t like pubs.  In fact this is London’s best-concealed cinema where fine films are exhibited to those who can put up with the drink prices.  On a Tuesday evening in late February the screening room is playing host to a high proportion of men in full beards and faded baseball caps, tell-tale signs of something afoot. The Archie Bronson Outfit are back in town equipped, if the rumours could be believed, with an album even better than the particularly tight and rocking Derdang Derdang. … Continue Reading

Kubla Khan – London Indigo2

Kubla Khan

February 19th 2010

Kubla Khan have transformed over the last few months.  Their last London gig, at 229 Great Portland in November, showcased a good band but lacked a decent frontman.  That’s not to say singer Matt Heanes was bad – far from it, in fact.  He just lacked that showmanship quality that a nine-piece band needs.

Fast forward to February, then, and how things have changed. Matt was visibly more relaxed, and interacted much better with the audience. Wandering about the stage and shouting “How you doing?… I said how you doing?!” it was evident his confidence has grown since the last time they were in London, and rightly so.

Heanes has a great voice, and Kubla Khan are a very tight band musically. Funk should be something you can move to, and the band as a whole seemed to be juxtaposed between chilled out and high on adrenalin. ‘Karma Comes Around’ is a catchy song which I still find myself humming to a week after the gig, and it was good to see the band having fun on stage whilst they played; the horn section were rocking out when they weren’t playing, laughing and joking with each other.

… Continue Reading

Shearwater, London Scala

Shearwater

February 25, 2010

The Scala is almost its own death knell for anyone fortunate enough to have seen Shearwater play the Union Chapel in ‘09, where the fluidity and sky-scraping power of their repertoire peaked in a setting so perfect it was as if custom-tailored. The audience sat on pews like a dedicated congregation, the stage spot-lit to maximum effect with every movement and sound microscopically audible. … Continue Reading

Yeasayer – London Heaven

Yeasayer

February 23, 2010

In Heaven, not everything is fine. The beer tastes like ass, and the men’s toilets smell worse than ass. But ass isn’t important here, not tonight anyway, because the sound at least is near divine.

There’s a hell of a lot of people, a varied grouping at that. Not surprising given the fervent hysteria Yeasayer’s Odd Blood is currently stirring among the music press. If All Hour Cymbals was Dad’s little folk secret, Odd Blood is the electro-psychedelic party music for da yoof, and all have gathered this evening.

Yeasayer’s support comes from fellow Brooklyn twosome Javelin. Their set is accompanied by an ’80s movie montage of assorted promo videos featuring Casio keyboard demos, tennis lessons with a mulleted Andre Agassi and BMX biker clips. Javelin’s synth and drum pad shtick provides quite the novelty soundtrack, and while I’m sure this ironic gimmickry goes down a storm in Brooklyn, here the 80s was an achromatic time, and the two dimensional songs do little to stir an attentive audience now cramming into the vault of Heaven. It’s the curse of the support act. In their defence, Javelin play with genuine moxie that keeps the audience captivated. But that’s not why we’re here.

… Continue Reading

Spoon, Amsterdam Paradiso

Spoon

February 18, 2010

If you would look at a photo taken at this gig you might be led to believe that Spoon is a band of middle-aged indie-rockers standing on a stage and simply playing their own instruments to no theatrics at all. I mean, there they are, these men around the forty from Texas, standing there without much ado. They are dressed reasonably sharp, I’ll give them that. No Interpol antics though. However, the venue is almost at full capacity, and it would be absurd if all these people paid 20 euros to see some guys simply play their own instruments, right? Right? Luckily Spoon isn’t just any old indie-rock band. In Amsterdam they give three convincing reasons as to why they are at the head of their class: their oeuvre, their ability to play, and the “secret” theatrics and literary elements to their music. … Continue Reading

New Young Pony Club, London Islington Academy

This is really NYPC - image by Natalie Shaw

February 22, 2010

Before being given a sneaky preview of New Young Pony Club’s new album (due out March 8th) The Optimist, I’d have cowered at the idea of their new material forming the backbone of my listening habits for longer than 10 minutes. That’s not to say the debut Fantastic Playroom was insubstantial, more just temporary and self-imposedly limiting; its aping of the ‘78-’81 was niche, sure, but more than that – it failed to whet the appetite for much more. And this contextual cherry-on-top adds even more fervour to Tahita Bulmer and her band’s charming comeback in a show where they fully free themselves from the restrained sound of yore. … Continue Reading

The Chapman Family/Frankie & The Heartstrings/Little Comets – Stockton Georgian Theatre

The Chapman Family

February 15th 2010

The Georgian Theatre plays host to three strikingly separate bands this evening as part of the NME Awards show series. Rotating the order every night in the tour’s other shows in York and Leeds; it is the turn of Frankie & The Heartstrings to get proceedings underway tonight.

Striding on with assured confidence, the hotly-tipped act from Sunderland waste no time in pressing their case. In Frankie, they possess a front man who resembles Morrissey in the foppish-nature of his styling and Paul Smith in his bounding energy. Their songs are a potent combination of angular-pop guitar melody and regionalised dialect vocals. The Teesside crowd appears enthusiastic and provides the encouragement that it is apparent the band never really needed in all honesty. Former Kenickie member, Pete Gofton (AKA J Xaverre) provides some energetic guitar and keyboard work alongside the rest of the band who are all on fine form. An endearing performance which leaves us intrigued to hear more, a band to be keeping tabs on for sure.

Next up are Newcastle-based band Little Comets, who are also an act with their respective stars on the rise (pun very much intended). A stagecraft unlike no other, they have some old blue rope of the sort you used to make a ‘tarzee’ with as a child with various percussion hanging down, they are certainly engaging. Their singer appears to lose a few pounds in sweat due to the oversized fleece-jumper he sports but it doesn’t affect his energetic performance. Their highlight track is soon-to-be single Joanna, a pop-tune that is likely to win them even more plaudits.

… Continue Reading

Stornoway – Gateshead Sage

Stornoway

February 14th 2010

Presented by Twisted Folk, this tour juxtaposes the two very different entities of Beth Jeans Houghton and Stornoway. Although billed as headliners, it is the fine young gentlemen from Oxford that take to the Sage stage first and on whom we shall focus. The whole aura around Stornoway is carried in a very understated fashion, a minimalist approach signified by the apparent meekness of lead singer Brian Briggs. He ambles closer to the microphone in instalments before mustering a barely registering “hello”.

Once the band strike up, the facade of simplicity dissolves into the many layers of their thoughtfully constructed tunes. Each song is well-received by a crowd that needed some encouragement, even for a Sunday night outing, yet thankfully Stornoway’s charm does enough to win them over. It is plain that many are here to see them on the back of TV appearances on Jools Holland’s Later… alongside Jay-Z; Foo Fighters and Norah Jones, and a BBC Radio 1 session for Huw Stephens.

We manage to spot one lady in particular who seems to be growing in delirium as their set progresses, rocking backwards and forwards whilst clapping in a strangely afflicted manner, and can frequently be heard calling for various requests. Such fandom is something that is surely only to increase where Stornoway are concerned, with their debut album expected sometime later in 2010.

… Continue Reading