Sons of Noel and Adrian, London Union Chapel

Sons of Noel and Adrian

June 12, 2009

On record, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the intenseness of Sons Of Noel And Adrian. Here on stage tonight, as part of a Willkommen special (more reviews and exclusive chats with The Leisure Society to follow), the collective’s members cram their convulsing melodies into the same space in a flight, filled with yearning suspensions and ever-building textures into a whip-frenzy of mysticality, choral timbres and overarching it all, a heart-stopping beat of the ocean.

The setting of Jacob Richardson’s reedy Americana-recalling vocals amidst the multi-layered build of strings, woodwind and brass makes my heart (ahoy) pound against my chest, particularly so on the unified foot-stamp of ‘Daniel’. This is the spirit of collectiveness, there’s so much emotion on show. Equal parts Shostakovich and Will Oldham, this Brighton grouping’s performance re-enacts the more than 180-degree line that is life itself.

Performance-wise, the togetherness is astonishing; each note rings out and into the next, a bite so chilling there’s a tendency to forget the enormity of what you’re watching. The crescendo is Sons Of Noel And Adrian’s forté, and the chorus of voices make so much more sense live.

Is this post-folk? Quite possibly. Is their self-titled album my tip for the 2009 Mercury Music Prize? Most certainly.

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