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 !
6.5/11 Attended by George & Andy
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.
6.5/11 Attended by George
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
10/11 Attended by George
Snippet of ‘Conqueror’ courtesy of tris.merrill on Instagram . thanks.
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!
Attended by George & Karen
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.
6.5/11 Attended by George
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.
7/11 Attended by George, Karen & Mhairi
I was disappointed to see Sneaky Pete’s so empty on a Friday evening with a couple of new young bands on show, but Young States and Concrete Kingdoms made it well worth going along. Young States are 4 teenagers from Norwich and were very impressive (I remember how rubbish my band was at that age). Well rehearsed and slick with some good songs including their single ‘Feedback’ (see below). Singer Georgia has a sweet voice for a modern rock band and though their set is a little bit samey it’s early days and will be good to see what they get up to next. Really promising… watch this space!
6.5/11 Attended by George
Wow, Wow, Wow !!! Belly ! The real Belly, are back! One of my favourite ever bands, away for 20 years, and this was their first proper gig back. What a treat it promised and so it turned out to be. The fact Jan and I could still sing most of the words showed just how much we loved them back then, and I was a huge Throwing Muses fan too, so to have Tanya and co. here and to see them for the first time was a dream come true!
No support band either, two sets making nearly 2 hours explained why it was billed as ‘An Evening with Belly’. That enabled them to play all our favourites (well nearly every one of their songs) and a packed Garage crowd sang along and really put the understandably nervous band at ease. I’m certain they were taken aback at the love shown to them after all these years (’cause they said so) and this great atmosphere has since been repeated at all the shows on this tour.
Easy to forgive a little rustiness and occasional off keyness in Tanya’s singing (wasn’t always the greatest live) but the music was consistently great and the smile never left my face. What a happy comeback, maybe I’ll get to see them again?
9/11 Attended by George & Jan
These guys are pretty fine musicians and do a reasonable job replicating the sound of one of my all time favourite bands … But … The whole ‘experience’ was a bit lacking in character and entertainment, which is what Alex was all about. Good effort but Karen and I left before the end since the set and songs were dragging out too much for us. Great to see these great songs being kept alive though.
6/11 Attended by George & Karen
Musically the band were very tight throughout the 1hr 45min set. Though that kind of heavy disco drone is not my cup of tea, they were loud and powerful which always helps and a loyal and enthusiastic crowd lapped it all up. Johnny is the star though and after a long set of extended songs he wound us all up to a big finish. ‘Religion’ (it’s bollocks) was a stand out for me as was ‘Shoom’ in which everything is all ‘Bollocks’! And when Johnny sang to ‘turn up the bass’, they really did turn up the bass ’til we were all physically resonating … That was officially loud!
Quite impressed and long may Jonny carry on carrying on.
7.5/11 Attended by George & Andy
https://www.hifipig.com/pil-the-liquid-room-edinburgh/#more-23985
George Glen 