Despite what I said here, I think The Download (or Oxford Introducing, as it has been renamed in some horrific national rebranding) is quite good nowadays. The real irony is that in criticising it I've turned in a very dull review. Cliche-ridden guff, isn't it? Sorry about that.
V/A - THE DOWNLOAD SESSIONS (BBC)
It can be tough to know how to judge things sometimes, if they're good ideas. No one could possible deny that it's wonderful that the BBC have foudn an hour a week in their schedules to devote to local music, but aren't a lot of people quietly wondering if The Download couldn't be a tiny bit better? Well, whatever the consensus, with this showcase album Bearder & Co. have hit absolute gold, turning in a varied and impressive collection of acoutis cmusic that touches many bases.
It also pleasingly tinkers with all the emotions. The problem with so much acoustica is that it tends to get mired in one particular zone, whose slogan might be "I'm pretty upset and sorry for myself, but not enought o actually look like I might get of my arse and do anyt bloody thing about it". No chance here, as we're swept from the dark suspicion of Rebecca Mosely's 'cello-spiked "Power In Paper" to the tuneful apology of The Epstein's jewel-like "Leave Yr Light On", floating on neat mandolin lines and breezy backing vocals. Other highpoints are "Games" by Charlotte James, who has managed to extricate herself from the session muso sludge of her live outings, and Ally Craig's charged "Lower Standard" - it may not be his best song, but anyone who can perform with this intensity can aome round and sing the 'phone book to us any time, frankly. Also worthy of mention are "Bluebird" by KTB, which reminds us how lovely a folk vocalist she is for the first time in eons, and Belarus, who turn in a tuneful Keanesque effort which wraps us up lik a blanket...OK, the pattern may not be very interesting, but it makes us fele safe and warm. In fact there are no real failures on this CD, whcih is unusual enough for any compilation, let alone a simple "live lounge" collection like this. Emily Rolt's wispy meanderings still sound pretty vapid nto these ears, but we don't have any urge to smash the furniture this time, so she must be doijng something right, whereas Los Diablos reveal their vocal limitations when shorn of the visuals, which is a pity as "Joan Of Arc" is a strong song, with dense Catholic imagery that recalls Scott Walker in his Seventh Seal mood.
We finish with a track by Richard Walters, one of the city's best singers and a Beard Museum founding follicle to boot. Richard's voice is strange and awkward, like a tiny cowering lizardine creature, but somehoe it manages to scrape past ugliness and achieve real beauty. If there's anyone who epitomises the variety and individuality of Oxford's acoustic scene it's this man, and as the last notes die away we raise a glass to The Download...and to the fact that the song isn't immediately followed by one of Tim's jokes.
Showing posts with label Rolt Emily. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rolt Emily. Show all posts
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
The Giddy Goatee
This is a review of a promoter whose gigs I've really enjoyed on many occasions, but the night in question was a bit dank. All those good gigs I saw with pen safely in pocket, & then I go and review this one. So, you can probably taste the conflict betwen wanting to be nice about the organisors, and wanting to be nasty about the acts.
I've kept the "house style"micro-paragraphs this time, just so you can see how the BBC editor used to post the reviews. No matter how glib and pithy I tried to be, I was apparently always too long winded and obtuse, so he hacked the copy into tiny bites of prose. Semi-colons got chopped regularly. Probably fair, I'm a bastard for convoluted, multi-clause sentences, but on the other hand, I think it's best to imagine your readers have got beyond The Magic Faraway Tree in terms of reading comprehension. Actually, this review, like a lot of my BBC efforts, is pretty poor: was this because it was early in my (ha!) career, or because I was trying, and failing, to write like somebody from Look In to keep the powers that be happy?
THE BROTHERS OF INVENTION/EMILY ROLT/LAGRIMA/FATALLY YOURS, Beard Musuem, The Purple Turtle, 11/04
Maybe it's the name, but I always imagined Fatally Yours were a goth band. Perhaps they are normally, but in semi-acoustic formation they sound like an American chart indie band circa 1999, with hints of 70s AM pop. Which is better than it sounds, actually.
There's a pleasant warmth to their two guitar sound and they have a decent clutch of songs - though, whatever your politics, the Iraq song is a royal duffer. Despite the fact that he looks nothing like him, something in the singer's mannerisms (and eyebrows) reminds me of Morrissey. Not that he sounds like Morrissey...he sounds like an American chart indie singer circa 1999. Which is again better than I'm implying.
It's a good little set, and if that sounds patronising, remember that Beard Museum is, by definition, a little gig. Most enjoyable.
Acoustic duo Lagrima has a bunch of songs that sound like 50s jazz stanbards you can't quite place. Whilst this means they don't pack too many surprises, it does mean they come across as elegant and immediate.
The guitarist is incredibly fluent, and the singer, despite her obvious nerves, has a delicious, smoky voice, that really cuts into the heart of the compositions. Their first song features the repeated refrain "Easy", and that's my minor gripe with them: I'd love to see them stray from the path and develop their sound. It's as if they know that anything they do is effortlessly lovely, so play it safe.
Still, if "effortlessly lovely" is my harshest criticism, I think we're onto a winner here...
Emily Rolt is an incredible singer...and by "incredible" I mean "extremely able" rather than "any good". Like many RnB types, warbling Emily seems to have confused vocal dexterity with the ability to interpret a lyric. The again, when a song basically consists of the words "beautiful, beautiful love" repeated for about a week, maybe there's nowhere to go.
I've never liked it much, but Coldplay's "Yellow" does not automatically become more emotionally charged if you play it really slowly and never come close to singing the melody. Emily's constantly singing
.............................and up here
down here
...................................................and over there
for no clear reason. Except that she can, I suppose.
In all fairness, millions of people will love her, and she won't disappoint them, but I need something more.
Emily is great at what she does. Then again, so was jack The Ripper.
ddly, when The Brothers Of Invention took the stage I whispered to my friend, "They look like Maroon 5". "More like Toploader," he replied.
Well, blow me if they don't sound like a cross betwen the two. Their bouncy jazz-pop is fine, but Curiosity has already killed the cat, don't let it kill me too.
At least, this was my first reaction, but by the end of the set they'd just about salvaged it, with some entertaining lite funk tunes, and some neat keyboard playing, so let's average it out to polite ambivalence.
Another varied and interesting line-up from The Beard Museum - far more than just an acoustic night.
I've kept the "house style"micro-paragraphs this time, just so you can see how the BBC editor used to post the reviews. No matter how glib and pithy I tried to be, I was apparently always too long winded and obtuse, so he hacked the copy into tiny bites of prose. Semi-colons got chopped regularly. Probably fair, I'm a bastard for convoluted, multi-clause sentences, but on the other hand, I think it's best to imagine your readers have got beyond The Magic Faraway Tree in terms of reading comprehension. Actually, this review, like a lot of my BBC efforts, is pretty poor: was this because it was early in my (ha!) career, or because I was trying, and failing, to write like somebody from Look In to keep the powers that be happy?
THE BROTHERS OF INVENTION/EMILY ROLT/LAGRIMA/FATALLY YOURS, Beard Musuem, The Purple Turtle, 11/04
Maybe it's the name, but I always imagined Fatally Yours were a goth band. Perhaps they are normally, but in semi-acoustic formation they sound like an American chart indie band circa 1999, with hints of 70s AM pop. Which is better than it sounds, actually.
There's a pleasant warmth to their two guitar sound and they have a decent clutch of songs - though, whatever your politics, the Iraq song is a royal duffer. Despite the fact that he looks nothing like him, something in the singer's mannerisms (and eyebrows) reminds me of Morrissey. Not that he sounds like Morrissey...he sounds like an American chart indie singer circa 1999. Which is again better than I'm implying.
It's a good little set, and if that sounds patronising, remember that Beard Museum is, by definition, a little gig. Most enjoyable.
Acoustic duo Lagrima has a bunch of songs that sound like 50s jazz stanbards you can't quite place. Whilst this means they don't pack too many surprises, it does mean they come across as elegant and immediate.
The guitarist is incredibly fluent, and the singer, despite her obvious nerves, has a delicious, smoky voice, that really cuts into the heart of the compositions. Their first song features the repeated refrain "Easy", and that's my minor gripe with them: I'd love to see them stray from the path and develop their sound. It's as if they know that anything they do is effortlessly lovely, so play it safe.
Still, if "effortlessly lovely" is my harshest criticism, I think we're onto a winner here...
Emily Rolt is an incredible singer...and by "incredible" I mean "extremely able" rather than "any good". Like many RnB types, warbling Emily seems to have confused vocal dexterity with the ability to interpret a lyric. The again, when a song basically consists of the words "beautiful, beautiful love" repeated for about a week, maybe there's nowhere to go.
I've never liked it much, but Coldplay's "Yellow" does not automatically become more emotionally charged if you play it really slowly and never come close to singing the melody. Emily's constantly singing
.............................and up here
down here
...................................................and over there
for no clear reason. Except that she can, I suppose.
In all fairness, millions of people will love her, and she won't disappoint them, but I need something more.
Emily is great at what she does. Then again, so was jack The Ripper.
ddly, when The Brothers Of Invention took the stage I whispered to my friend, "They look like Maroon 5". "More like Toploader," he replied.
Well, blow me if they don't sound like a cross betwen the two. Their bouncy jazz-pop is fine, but Curiosity has already killed the cat, don't let it kill me too.
At least, this was my first reaction, but by the end of the set they'd just about salvaged it, with some entertaining lite funk tunes, and some neat keyboard playing, so let's average it out to polite ambivalence.
Another varied and interesting line-up from The Beard Museum - far more than just an acoustic night.
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