The Leisure Society –Cluny17/2/12

 Ellen Wilkie

As a critic, I don’t tend to be easily pleased. I’m at a point now where I can admit that. Bearing this in mind, it’s quite a big deal how much I appreciate and love the musical output of The Leisure Society. Their coy vocals and the tight harmonies that back them up, their stringy arrangements with flutters of flute and glockenspiel in the midst, and the strong poeticism of every word combine and make me powerless as they force their way into my heart.

Tonight, the band was supported by Dan Michaelson & The Coastguards. Two men (their band name was deceptively pluralised) sat atop stools, guitars in hand, plaid shirts on their backs and beards on their chins. They looked as though they’d been taken straight from a fishing boat, and their tobacco and whiskey vocals reinforced this further. The gruff bass of Michaelson’s voice has a husky charm. There were echoes of Johnny Cash to it, and the emotive qualities of artists like Dusty Springfield, both of whom are cited as influences by the band. Whilst the lack of diction afforded some beauty, it also lacked diction. Within a few songs then it seemed that we’d heard it all. As for ‘tween song banter, it could have been hilarious, but nobody understood it due to the poor enunciation and clarity of his words. I’d be interested to read Michaelson’s lyrics to find out if they were as stirring as their delivery suggested.

The Leisure Society themselves were in direct contrast to the support. For all of the sloppiness of the former, then the headline act made up for it in their tight precision. The band utilise classical instruments such as violin, flute and cello together with traditional electric guitar, bass and drum set to create a neo-orchestral sound that is completely unique. This mix of instruments, however, requires a breadth of players. The crampedClunystage seemed to restrain them somewhat. They overlapped one another and it may be that this lack of space hindered their performance. You wouldn’t have known it though. The band maneuvered from the quiet, understated and melancholy, to the full, dynamic and agile with little stop for breath. Their tracks are smooth, harmonic and endlessly endearing, with the band appearing to be equally as charming as they are talented. Playing a mixture of new and old, as well as B-sides that they claim ‘nobody will have heard of’, they confirmed the love that existing fans had and gained a few new ones on the way.

There’s a magic to The Leisure Society. They don’t just make music, they seem to sparkle while they do it. There are stars hidden under those folky exteriors. They’re a hidden gem. We all just need to hope that they are polished and not tainted by their burgeoning popularity.

The First Seven EP

Glen Lewis

Seven songs and an equal acoustic version of each of these songs is long for an EP, so it’s good that it’s tough to get enough of Dave Giles when a good mood strikes you. This first record of Mr. Giles sports the exact kind of charm that directs his live shows and his second record, Tales of a Social Misfit. While The First Seven doesn’t have the same variety, it’s still got the same kind of light-hearted sentiments to give, from bromances to just having a good day in the summer in London. You might reckon the music is a little reductive because of this simplicity, but that’s not the case – the music is very good, with lots of lovely solos, fine-tuned fills and harmonies filling in the gaps between every chord that’ll suit acoustic folk fans right down to their tapping toes.

The First Seven is a great first record and showcases many of the nuances Giles went on to perfect in his second offering and it’s perfectly suited to chilling out to on a Sunday afternoon. In a deckchair in the garden wearing kick-ass shades, if you have the ingredients for such a thing. Don’t be surprised to find yourself humming the EP long after the last song has finished either – it’s a catchy one.

Tales of a Social Misfit and The First Seven EP reviews, by Dave Giles

Written by Glen Lewis.

Tales of a Social Misfit

There are two branches of acoustic music. One branch is melancholic reflection and the other is feel-good storytelling. Dave Giles largely sticks to the latter in ‘Tales of a Social Misfit’. Each song brings a new element to the forefront – Watching People on Trains brings blues in its country guitar licks, ‘A Song for the Old days’ lets bass take the lead in a vintage number that sounds like it could have been recorded on an old analogue. Bangarang even allows some playful beat boxing to handle the percussion and it works brilliantly. It’s all definitely acoustic-folk music, but the amount of flavours Giles presents is refreshing and keeps the album interesting.

The second half of the album features all seven original songs as acoustic performances, which is a really nice touch and suits more laid back listens. The lyrical substance is very honest and doesn’t shy away from speaking in simple terms rather than burying points and stories beneath metaphors. Dave Giles’ lyrics have a simple poetry to them and subject matter is the usual singer songwriter fare of love, loss and the odd sunny day.

It’s an extremely cohesive record that never settles into itself, moving continuously with the charm and energy that Dave Giles overflows with.

Dave Giles ‘Tall Man Shortbread’ Tour @ The Cluny 2

Support from Emergency Door Release, Room Service, The Blue Notes.

Glen Lewis

At the end of his set (I know it’s early to be talking about the end, but bear with me) Dave Giles asked the audience to sit in a circle a la first school and played his closing tune to them like that zany music teacher you never had. With a ukulele. His reason was that he wanted to remember childhood in a special way because he’s upset about growing up. Well, I’m not sure he has quite grown up – and I’m not sure he ever should either.

It was pretty much all about having a bit of fun tonight. Dave bound around as people filed in wearing an Elmo hat and giving out free shortbread biscuits and the audience was a mixture of old and young alike. And everyone had a biscuit. He even took the time to introduce each act and invite people to come closer to the stage, which they did for the most part. Emergency Door Release were the first band on the bill, a four piece with a set loaded with chilled riffs and stompy indie beats in equal doses. While their constant threat of releasing beach balls upon the audience garnered very little of the excitement they hoped for, they had some quality and catchy pop tunes going. They do nothing adventurous or particularly spectacular, but they were a good opener that didn’t pull the punches when it came to pumping out a catchy chorus.

Room Service were McFly-a-likes with all the sing-a-long choruses and uplifting musicianship you could ask for.  As a five-piece, they covered all bases very well – great drummer, fantastic guitar riffs, subtle but well integrated keys and a bunch of polished harmonies. It was an enjoyable set from start to finish and the lads had some good friendly banter and their bass player even brought a Newcastle United tee along to win us over. Some lyrics were very similar with a lot of “waking up and feeling feelings and looking at stars”, which made me yearn for these guys to really think deeper about their song writing in order to really stand out – they absolutely have the potential to become a pretty big hit.

The Blue Notes were content with pretending they weren’t all that good, declaring on several occasions that they were unpractised, freshly formed and nothing to shout about. They really couldn’t have been more wrong. One half of their set was an acoustic deal with only two members, and the second half consisted of a few plugged covers complete with a trombone player just because fuck yeah, trombone. Every song was very much carried by the vocalist, whose voice demanded the audience with its power, soul and presence. Think James Morrison but less poncy, think Paolo Nutini with a bit of welly. The quality of the instrumentation was of a consistent high too, as guitar solos came thick and fast and the trombone added an awesomely motown element to the otherwise blues-heavy set. A storming success.

Then it was Mr Giles’ turn. His choice of a smart shirt and waistcoat with jean-shorts combo pretty much exactly matches his music. It’s really smart, tightly written acoustic folk music with none of the seriousness that genre often sees. Like Frank Turner, you’ll rarely see him singing a sad song, but when he does, he pulls that off amazingly as well. His music covers subjects like Dave’s love for tea, his stalking habits on Facebook and his desire to stay young and his lyrics are filled with a really simple, accessible honestly – nothing is masked by metaphor, it’s just plain and simple “this is exactly how I feel”. His feelings bleed into his performance as well and both he and his band mates play with heart and with great mighty gusto.

And then, Dave finished off with the sitting in a circle shebang mentioned at the start of this review. It left a lasting, great impression and the whole show was a success from front to back. It’s good to know that though Dave has to face the real world, he gets to escape it for every gig, and he gets to share the reckless abandon of being a kid again with everyone smart enough to attend.

The Trews + Moonrunners @ The Cluny 2, February 12th

Megan Ramsey

Moonrunners

The four piece band from Sunderland performed a set of 9 original songs. As they were setting up just before they performed I noticed that they were dressed well as individuals but did not have an image as a band, they would look better with prepared ‘on stage clothing’. As they opened I was immediately impressed with how tight they were as a band but also aware of their lack of interaction with each other and with the crowd. However I think they may have benefited more with larger and younger audience as the crowd was very sparse. The thing that really caught my eye was the drummer, he was very consistent and by far the most enthusiastic member, or at least he was on stage.

When the band started to play ‘Cigarette Stained Kisses’ the third song of their set, I was intrigued by the intro and hoped it was going to live up to its potential. I found the verse melody a bit uninspiring but with a fairly catchy chorus, this was the case with most of their songs. I did however think that the singer’s vocals were good but she lacked charisma and stage presence as did the bassist and guitarist.

Overall this could be a great band as they showed real potential. They were very tight as a band with a good rhythm section, a great sounding guitar, a talented singer and decent songs. However I don’t think they’re quite there with how they look and their interaction with each other.

The Trews

The headliners of the night were of course The Trews, a rock band from Canada. Immediately I was blown away by their edgy sound and stylish look. As they opened their set with ‘Big Night Out’ I got an immediate taste of what they were about. They had a very tough heavy sounding guitar, a powerful singer and excellent harmonies. They reminded me a bit of ‘Kiss’ with a slight country influence, especially in songs like ‘Poor Ol’ Broken Hearted Me’.

I would say however that after a while their sound became slightly repetitive but occasionally give me a pleasant surprise by playing something completely different and unexpected. The singer would change to his acoustic every so often to play something sweeter on the ears.

The main harmonies came from the two brothers in the band, the singer and the guitarist, with backing vocals from the bassist. The songs were all catchy and memorable, so much so that I found myself whistling them to myself on the way home. The crowd seemed to like what they were hearing, and the fact that the band were interacting with them a lot made a world of difference. The singer was very confident and charismatic when talking to crowd.

They ended their set on a song called ‘Ishmael & Maggie’ which started as a typical sounding song by The Trews, but they closed the song by stepping away from their instruments including the drummer coming to the front, and doing a four part harmony which I myself and the crowd were really impressed by.

Overall an excellent band, who are definitely worth keeping an eye out for.

The best thing to do with street photography is pick someone difficult first – either a tough looking bloke or a beautiful woman. They will most likely be fairly vain and say yes. After that it’s easier than you think. Be aware of surroundings as people can be easily distracted or feel on show. And be ready to be quick, take test shots of your hand to get light readings first. I often find a spot I like and then wait for a person. It’s a bit like stalking – its a bit weird really. Give it a go – you’ll be fine !

See Anthony’s photography here

One Stop Railway – ‘From The Rooftops’ EP Review

Stuart Shelvin

So, what can I say about One Stop Railway? Quite a lot really. Jay, the esteemed editor of Shutter Magazine, asked me to do a review on their recent EP, From the Rooftops. However, I’m pretty drunk. I’ve just been to an ale tasting session, and well, things can spiral quite quickly, you know? So. One Stop Railway. These guys are going to be big, take my word for it.

Catchy guitar licks played by Craig Holroyd and vocal loops you’ll be singing to yourself all day, what can go wrong? These guys have it down to a tee. Fitting clearly into the Indie Rock scene, it’s hard to pick out any definite influences in their album, if I was pushed, I’d say a bizarre combination between the Artic Monkeys, Bloc Party and The Womabts, but the music they write is totally original, and something that you’ll instantly fall in love with.  Part of this is because of the wholly unpredictable structure of their songs, screw the usual verse, chorus, and middle 8 structures. Please, download the album, and try and predict the structure of each song, I challenge you that none of you will be able to do it. Drop me an e-mail if you do and you can have my job.

In their biography on Facebook, One Stop Railway claim they just “wanna…have fun”. It shows. The energy literally rolls off this album, and you can tell they enjoyed making it! This of course, leads to the listener having just as much fun. Whilst I realise this is becoming somewhat a stream of consciousness, I just remembered, I wish they had a female backing vocalist. The album really is calling out for that, something to harmonise with theYorkshire tinged voice of Matt McGoldrick would work just perfectly. This is a band that makes me very happy to listen to. I highly recommend you let them make you feel happy as well. Listen to them on http://www.myspace.com/onestoprailway and prepare to be blown away. I can’t wait to see these guys live inCoventry on Friday. Melodic inventiveness, a driving rhythm section, yup, these guys are sorted.  I might do reviews drunk more often.

Album Review – Enter Shikari – A flash flood of colour

Josh Kirkup

Post-hardcore, electronicore, metalcore. Their music falls into many categories and with their 3rd studio album released in January, Enter Shikari look to add more fans to their ever growing followers.      Take to the skies and comman dreads were such massive successes, that a flash flood of colour holds a lot of expectation.

Personally I’ve only seen Enter Shikari twice live. And some people would ask “what qualifies you to write about them?” My answer to that would be “shut up and read something else if you don’t like it”.

The two times I’ve seen Enter Shikari, I found them to be all about energy. Their songs made everyone want to go crazy, jump around and generally just move.

In late 2011 we had teasers of the new album, and January ’12 saw us graced with 11 new tracks. And in my opinion, most of them were subpar to what we are used to. I didn’t feel the energy and freedom that tracks like “Jugganaughts” and “Johnny Sniper” brought, with their new sound. “A Flash of Colour” makes me think less of packed venues and summer festivals, and more of Bob Geldof; trying to move away from fun and towards seriousness.

“Sssnake Pit” carries the album, which personally is a little disappointing, due to the success of comman dreads. That album had 4 or 5 songs which instantly made me want to gather fifteen or twenty of my friends, and smash into each other. But this one has only one or two instantly ear catching tracks, and doesn’t as much make me want to mosh as much as stage a protest outside the Houses of Parliament.

After a few more listens, I am sure it’ll grow on me and become just as much a favourite as its predecessors. Some fans may call it evolution of style, some may see it as a way to get a Political message out to those who normally would hear one, and some may say that Enter Shikari have changed. I agree and disagree with all these people, and I say this; its change. Change isn’t always bad, but it isn’t always good either.

INTERVIEW: The Dead Famous

Jay Dawson

How much of a change has it been forming as a collective, from different bands?
It’s been great, obviously knew each other before hand so it was wicked getting in the studio and seeing what we came up with.

  To what extent did James’ past in Go: Audio impact on The Dead Famous’ Sound
Not a lot, we just got in the studio and experimented, we wanted to create something different.

  How would you say your sound has developed since previous projects and bands?
We’re definitely in our infancy with this band but we’re happy with how it’s going and we’d like to think it’s different.

Tell me a little bit about ‘Superstar’ – Does it have some hidden semantics, or is it just meant to be a feel good song?
I think a lot of people can relate to it, I think we all have superstar in us, even if no one else can see it, basically just keep doing what you’re doing and believe.

Individually, what would you say your main dynamics are as people [not band members]
Driven, committed, cool mo. fo’s

Do you have a set song-writing / lyricism workflow? if so do you stick to it?
Not at all, letting the river flow free

Anyone special you’d like to mention who has helped you to where you are today? Who and How?
Our parents for having fun that night

What can we expect from live shows? Anything special lined up? Tour?
High energy, sing alongs…..basically a karaoke bar

As a band, who would you say your music is most similar to?
it’s dissimilar to millions of bands, it’s similar to none

What genre would you label yourself as? And if you weren’t that genre, what would you be?
I guess we are rock/pop

  Funniest/Weirdest/Most interesting band past-time?
Shot roulette

Ellen Wilkie

Laura Veirs appears to be the epitome of the charming folk performer. She hails from Seattle, has been a songwriter since her youth and – of course – had a punk phase during her college years. You expect a kooky darling; coy and fascinating. What was delivered wasn’t exactly that, unless you paid attention to Laura’s support act.

Alessi’s Ark nervous stumble to the stage as the Sage’s lights dimmed marked the beginning of the evening. Her humble, nervous gait and timid introduction did nothing to excite the crowd, but her manner dramatically changed with the strike of her first chord. Alessi is possessor not only of a shy allure, but of a completely phenomenal voice. Her mahogany vocals twist as they go, leaving the illusion that she has taken a wah wah pedal to her own voice. Her lyrics are metaphor ridden tales, blunt, and rich in nature references.

If Alessi’s entrance was in contrast to her performance, Laura Veirs’ was indicative of it. She strode confidently up to the microphone and introduced- in a broad American accent- herself and her first track. She launched into jovial folk pop, herself strumming an acoustic guitar and backed up by a rhythm guitarist (with whom there was alarming sexual tension) and violinist. Laura may have quite a cult following and a tender vocal on record, but live her voice seems harsh and in places even out of tune. She seemed to almost overperform, to want to spit out the words rather than letting them naturally fall. Laura’s backing was her saviour. Her violin player, who stayed largely mute throughout the performance, was the hidden talent. She plucked at her instrument, and used her bow against the wood to create beats (since the tracks clearly lacked in percussion otherwise). Without her then it would be fair to say that the music would be verging on unlistenable.

Laura and her band are curious, in that by day they are children’s performers. The most recent album to have been made was one geared towards infants, and so they played an afternoon show previous to this one wearing, so Laura tells us, butterfly wings, face paints and antennae. This is all fine and well; in fact I think it’s a marvellous idea, but only if you can separate your serious musical output and the twee fairytales exclusively appealing to the younger generation. The performance was too wholesome and saccharine, and she appeared to forget that adults don’t take as kindly to audience participation as children do. It was almost charming, I’ll give them that, but not well produced enough to be credible.