Another of those evenings at when I don’t know quite what to expect but come away wowed and delighted at striking lucky! Impressed by all 3 acts starting with I Am Pluto (Craig Finnie) whose songs I had just stumbled across on Soundcloud. Mamatung from Liverpool were also intriguing and original.
She Drew The Gun are led by singer/songwriter/poet Lou Roach whose politically charged lyrics and poems are for me a welcome and important sign of of the changing times. About time more people swapped the bland for the bold, if you are not angry, you are not paying attention! Musically inventive too, so the combination was genuinely moving and impressive. Brilliant.
I had been in touch with Lou Maclean and discovered a series of ‘Revolution Girl Style Now’ gigs at Leith Depot which really tickled me, that being the name given to the original Riot Grrrl gatherings. Seems Riot Grrrl is a thing again, and a very good thing too!
4 acts on this bill, but stand-outs were headliners Bloom from Brighton with their nice poppy harmonies, and the best was Lou Maclean with her catchy melodies and clever lyrics.
A bill I couldn’t miss with 3 bands I wanted to see one after the other! I had wanted to catch first band Lords of Bastard for a while, not just because they’ve got the best band name since King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard, but they are a bit different. Their ‘Deep-Fried Psychedelic Rock’ also has subtle keyboard touches and great drumming. Cool!
Britney are new favourites of mine, I even wore my ‘so rare it’s extinct’ yellow ‘spider’ Britney t-shirt in their honour! They are unique and make a special kind of noise, lots of short frantic songs. Great set again, just not long enough, but maybe that’s part of the point? Magic.
Apart from opening with ‘No Feelings’ by the Sex Pistols, Fat Goth mainly played their forthcoming fourth album in its entirety. My initial impression was good, though for me, their later, more polished material hasn’t got the same quirky spark or originality as their wonderful 2nd album Stud. Still good, but again disappointed by low turn out, maybe Edinburgh doesn’t get it?
Le Butcherettes are a ‘garage, punk’ band from Guadalajara, Mexico. Teri Gender Bender (Teresa Suarez) is the leader and star of the show and there’s not many performers around with the deranged moves and scary attitude she brings. Imagine a female Iggy Pop with a guitar, but not exposing themselves. I expected her energy and magnetism but was also impressed by so many tunes and her great accompanists, particularly Alejandra who is an incredible drummer, but also bassist Riki.
I liked the energy I saw in a few videos so went to see how that came across live and we certainly got energy and commitment. Lively and brash with punky / indie style I usually like, but songs not actually that memorable, so a good night but nothing to write home about …doh! just did !
Neil Pennycook started Meursault as a solo project that turned into a band, that folded two years ago, that he has now resurrected as a solo project! I missed them before but was always curious, so here I was to find out. Definitely an accompanied solo show with the focus all on Neil and the delivery of his dark, tortured, but amusing lyrics. Nice and heartfelt, but not really my style.
Aurora Aksnes is a young singer / songwriter from Norway who’s quirky and intriguing music is making a rapidly growing impact around the world. I liked what I had heard but now I can see what all the excitement is about …she is brilliant and I smiled every bit as much as all the people around me!
I hadn’t been to the Art School before, but it’s a great wee venue holding about 800, and all of the attendees can’t fail to have enjoyed Aurora’s 90 min set full of great songs and special moments.
She is so expressive with such a joyful and endearing charm, as well as a lovely voice and melodic, memorable songs. Her band are also very good and the result of much touring this year was a flawless set with some super 3 part harmonies and excellent sound. But it’s Aurora who is clearly the star, and for someone so young it seems to come easily and naturally, though I’m sure we are seeing the results of years of hard work since she started composing music at the age of 6!
I expect her profile to continue to grow and we will hear lots more from her since she is a prolific songwriter. She’s so good, I can’t wait to see her again, but expect that to be in a much larger setting! Must be gig of the year for me.
In the first video below at 0:48 she says ‘thank you for the air’, that’s me fanning my arms towards her! xx
I’ve been a massive, obsessive fan of Bjork for 30 years since The Sugarcubes and a trip to London was my only chance to catch one of her very scarce performances. Her last album ‘Vulnicura’ has only a couple songs I like and is far from my favourite … but that doesn’t matter because her live shows are always pretty special.
Our first time at the Albert Hall … what an incredible place! We were right in front of the stage in the relatively small standing area but the extensive seating area with so many floors and boxes is stunningly high, like an enormous wedding cake. No wonder it holds well over 5,000 and it was packed!
Bjork took the stage with a strings only orchestra and played 2 sets, the first being all from Vulnicura. I liked the first two songs ‘Stonemilker’ and ‘Lionsong’, but the rest were pretty dull and underwhelming. Her second set and encores including some old favourites ‘Aurora’, ‘Pagan Poetry’ and ‘Anchor Song’, was much more like it.
She finished her encore with an unusual strings backed version of ‘Pluto’ and when she left the stage the audience of adoring fans (including me ) kept on singing the chorus melody for ages until she came back for a final thank you. So much love in the hall for one of the great artists of our time. Though I was overall underwhelmed with the music, she is still the greatest for me!
An evening of performance art as much as music from all 3 acts with very dark, backlit, smoky lighting giving a suitable claustrophobic atmosphere for the performances. A previous description of Naked as ‘brutal, distorted electro pop’ better than I can make up, see video below to judge for yourself.
Naked are Agnes Gryczkowska and Alexander Johnston and this was a launch of their debut album ‘Zone’. Also described as ‘not for the faint hearted’ and I can also agree with that. Interesting and attention grabbing, but enjoyable? Well, a bit! Worth keeping an eye out for them.
Man Of Moon are are Chris Bainbridge (Guitar/Vocals) and Mikey Reid (Drums/Backing Vocals) from Edinburgh, and have been getting plenty of positive attention recently. I had always wanted to check them out since hearing good things about them, and the Electric Circus was suitably busy, full of enthustastic supporters of their local favourites.
I expected them to be good and was not let down by their great playing and innovative approach for a 2 piece band. Quite serious and intense but they clearly have a definite vision for their style of music and consistently deliver strong songs in a well balanced set. 2 talented guys and it will be interesting to see how they develop from here.
