Review: Signed/Unsigned
- Posted on December 13, 2006 6:30 PM
- 0 comments
SIGNED/UNSIGNED
Hackney Empire, London
December 13th 2006
By Paul Case
No less than eight bands on tonight at the Hackney Empire, and all for absolutely free. Can't ask for any more than that. Free beer would be nice, but, aside from stealing booze from house parties, that is but a dream. Amidst the loud chatter of those clearly not interested in music, which admittedly affected my listening skills (I'm going deaf anyway) some good 'uns shine through.
Kicking off proceedings tonight is Stubbs, and he plays some low-key, decent enough acoustic-folk malarky that is extremely pleasing. Good, melodic voice, and anyone who has the balls to get up there on their own - especially being on first - gets my vote. Unfortunately this bit's a tad skimpy, as the loudness of the bar and the quietness of the music were at odds. What I heard, though, was pleasant enough.
Next up is another acoustic act, but much stronger shades of country and Americana with a good smattering of plaintive Billy Bragg-style vocals. Phillius Williams is a bit rough around the edges, but polish isn't what this kind of music is about. The vocals are untrained in that really good way, unfiltered by fashion and just plain honest. Williams strums his guitar with real vigour too. Good stuff.
The Onion Club are probably the most unassuming band on tonight - and, somewhere under all that demure, there's a really good band fighting to get out. Their tunes are patient, again predominantly acoustic and generally mellow takes on acoustic/folky indie rock. Not bad at all.
The first act to truly capture the night's attention is Mika Sellens, who has backing tonight from an understated bloke who plays some particularly lovely and unobtrusive accompaniment. Sellins has a top voice which calmly floats over simple melodies. And when the cello comes out - which we're all secretly or not so secretly a complete sucker for - it really is quite an ear-grabbingly delicate dynamic. Nothing groundbreaking, but who needs to be challenged when there's elementary loveliness right in front of you? And anyone who covers 'You Say It Best' by Ronan Keating and makes it sound good has got to be worth your time.
The next band are pretty good too, and I think they're called Schwab. Regardless, there's a really strong lead singer who belts out a confident voice. Their acoustic guitar has the counterpart of an atmospheric electric, which lends the band an ambient texture that isn't often heard in their straightforward but decent take on mellow folk rock. Plus, even though their music doesn't require it, they rock out from time to time. Nice.
But it's Smoke Fairies who are quite possibly the best thing tonight. Two ladies armed only with acoustic guitars and perfectly harmonising vocals, they come across as a British version of the classic Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss pairing. Not quite sure what it is, but their rhythmic, repetitive guitars and their voices are truly hypnotic and seem to be floating around in their own world. A fragile and beautiful sound, their lyrics are full of the kind of misery and woe I fully expect (nay, demand) from this music. Sample lyric I heard through the smoky haze: "I ain't got no money/and nowhere to run to", which also recall Welch and Krauss and other country/folk luminaries. They're not re-inventing the wheel or anything, but they have an atmosphere that's all theirs. Plus, an incredibly welcome Iron and Wine cover is thrown in at the end. Bonus.
Michael J. Sheery are the most polished act tonight, but it's exactly their lack of rough edge that makes them a little tiring after a couple of songs. Another band on the list that've absorbed country, but also throwing a little blues around, their sound is fairly workman-like. I'm not sure why - they sing about cheating wives, drinking and murdering, all the things you expect... but I think it's their unwillingness to throw in anything truly unexpected, and sticking with what's safe. They seem to be imitating rather than emoting, and at the end of the day it all sounds a little samey. Not a bad band in any way, just the kind that sort of drifts by your ears.
And it's a little confusing what to make of Paul The Girl. She is a girl - but I didn't get her real name (unless she is called Paul, and her Dad listened to A Boy Named Sue an awful lot but didn't get a son). Holding her electric, she starts off with some fairly messy but charmingly rough tunes akin to Rid of Me-era PJ Harvey before spinning off into some bizarre, freewheeling fretwanking that, after the initial interest has worn off, gets a bit boring. To her credit, she plays with passion, and seems to be trying to incorporate psychedelia into her one-woman band and it becomes fairly obvious why no one's bothered before. I know it sounds harsh, but when Paul The Girl is being restrained, it works. When she flies off the handle, "less is more" has never sounded more appropriate. Still, at least she stands out tonight. And loads of people seemed to really like her, so go and see for yourself can be my only advice, I guess.
Capping off the night are The Rebeccaswith some very indie rock sounding indie rock. After a completely incoherent mess of an opening, their set soon settles into some disarmingly lovely jangly melodies in the style of Broken Social Scene. While the three-way vocals are a bit lazy, the music at times is genuinely full of life with some great, Mogwai-lite build ups with keyboards, guitars and drums a-whirling. At the moment, The Rebeccas are a decent enough act. With a bit of tightening here and there, and some more confident, strident playing, they could be a genuinely impressive slice of melody-laden indie pop. Nice start.
So, that ends the evening. Worth free entry, for sure. But, as a PS, don't let my negative reviews of some of the bands put you off - remember, I was watching them in a loud, chatty bar. I say go and see these bands, make your own minds up, and support a clearly thriving independent scene populated by a community of people who're doing it for nothing and just want to make music. And that, in all cases tonight, deserves your reverence.
Post a comment
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.seatwaveblogs.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/115
