Phoning it in

Dispatches from the back of the venue

Genre: Avant Rock

  • North Sea Radio Orchestra

    North Sea Radio Orchestra

    The thing about being a Cardiacs fan is there are all sorts of curious leads to follow in their wider, cinematic universe of associated bands and offshoots – each with some connection (literal or spiritual) to the late great Tim Smith. Not far upstream I find the amazing North Sea Radio Orchestra. Formed by Cardiacs alumnus Craig Fortnam, the NSRO are described as a “contemporary music ensemble and cross-disciplinary chamber orchestra (plus chorus)” and have already clocked up 20 odd years of dizzyingly accomplished work before johnny-come-lately here caught up with them.

    Fortunately for me a mysterious promotion outfit located over Snake Pass from me – going by the name of Buds and Spawn are also immersed in all things Cardiacs and beyond and are dedicated to presenting ‘semi irregular nights of semi-irregular music’. They have managed to get the entire NSRO – 10 piece ensemble with woodwind, strings and archaic organ – up from down south to Sheffield to perform in a lovely little theatre tucked away in the University corner. This is their only show outside London on this current round of performances to promote the new LP ‘Special Powers’.

    It’s a 5.30 start – perhaps to give time to get the ensemble back home before the witching hour. The early start, and the cosy theatre venue sets the scene nicely – the atmosphere is hushed and studious with none of the distractions of a typical ‘gig’ (nobody chatting or getting beery) – this is music to get immersed in – so let’s get into it.

    First up is another Cardiac, William D Drake and quite rightly everyone is here already to catch his performance. No missing the support act who is well known to a large proportion of the audience. William performs on piano with assistance from NSRO keyboard player James Larcombe alternating between two different Hurdy Gurdys (what else). Drake (a distant relative of yer actual Nick Drake) plays a set that leans stylistically into early music, madrigals and goes deep into a folky undergrowth. So far, so mediaeval and those unmistakable twisty-turny chords and strangely arcane melodies sound both ancient and modern. What a way to begin!

    NSRO take to the stage – 10 strong with violin, Cello, woodwind of various denominations, drums, keys, bass and vocalists -all led by Craig who for the most part sports an acoustic guitar which he uses in place of a conductors baton to lead the players and singers- and I’m really struck by how he plays- picking the elaborate songs out and often forming the bedrock of the music (much like Sean O’Hagan when High Llamas play live) and occasionally getting into a hypnotic strum as if he was just busking these remarkable pieces of music.

    It feels ‘classical’ – the musicians are reading from sheet music, playing these carefully arranged songs – sitting quietly or eyes closed when they are not required for a particular piece – but it’s not staid or stuffy – and I really like the fact this is kind of a art-rock gig in disguise really (notably Craig almost forgets to give the band – sorry – orchestra a proper conductorly flourish to start the first piece).

    They start by playing the new album in full – with a knowing apology – but it’s excellent anyway and there is plenty of time for a sublime selection from the NSRO catalogue including ‘Heavy Weather’ and a fitting tribute to Tim Smith ‘Morpheus Miracle Maker’. The encores include a track from Craig’s solo LP ‘Ark’ which is a highlight and sends me off into his solo catalogue – another Cardiacs tributary to float my musical barge down.

    Cardiacs aren’t the only reference point – a lot of what NSRO do hits that sweet spot of British art-rock / ROI (Rock in Opposition) and the Canterbury scene of the 1970s – so Henry Cow, Robert Wyatt, Soft Machine, Caravan as well as Syd Barrett.

    A joyous, intriguing evening – and hats off to Buds & Spawn for bringing this amazing music to Steel City

  • Spiritualized

    Spiritualized

    Pure Phase 30th Anniversary Tour

    I’m not the biggest fan of ‘Classic Album’ gigs. They can take the element of surprise and spontaneity out of show and, as is proved time and time again, what may be a perfectly sequenced album on record doesn’t always make a great night out.
    ‘Pure Phase’ is a curious choice for a live show and I’m intrigued to see what Jason Pierce and the current line up of musicians that comprise Spiritualized are going to do with it not least because in more recent years they’ve followed a more accessible path or, leaned into their most popular LP ‘Ladies & Gentlemen…’


    I’ve always been fond of ‘Pure Phase’ but it’s not an easy listen for the innocent bystander. It’s long, and it’s an uneven mix of scuzzy space rock, electronic experiments, extended blasts of noise and gospel tinged bliss outs not to mention the title track – 6 minutes of gently undulating organ drone (which reoccurs throughout the album as a backdrop and used to be used at gigs as a call to the audience to get away from the bar and assemble, ready to begin)

    Uncompromising, thrilling and perfectly out of step with the curdling of Britpop into Loaded Lad culture it was on heavy rotation on our hi-fi. I’m surprised to read it was seen as a commercial failure and Jason thinks it’s one of his most underappreciated records.

    I saw the band a lot around the time of it’s release and quite a lot of tracks weren’t performed live or were very different from the album versions which Jason famously laboured over..obsessively mixing two masters (one for each ear) and meticulously working on his perfect edit.


    Although other dates on this short tour have sold out, the idea of 2 hours of experimental, gospel-tinged swamp blues would seem to have somewhat selective appeal on a Monday night in Manchester and there are a fair few empty seats (the promoters charging 60-70 quid for seats closer to the front hasn’t helped and notably the cheap seats up in the gods are full)
    Last couple of times I saw the group they had a packed house and in fact were playing material from their more recent LPs. The audience seemed quite happy with those more song-based selections from ‘And Nothing Hurt’ and ‘Everything was Beautiful’ and there was very little looking back to the 90s – all the more surprising that Jason has chosen to go way back.

    The musicians file on and it’s clear Jason hasn’t skimped on hiring plenty of musicians to recreate this complex record – we’ve got a brass section and a string section as well as two backing vocalists joining the core band line-up. Jason walks on and gives his customary wave (a man of few words on stage) and – this is a big deal for long term fans, he’s decided to do this one standing up (rather than perched on a stool JJ Cale style). The Spaceman means business.


    The full band are put to good use and I’m immediately struck by little details – the intro to ‘Medication’ reveals the Brian Wilson influence Jason used to talk about in interviews and echoes California Girls or something from Pet Sounds – complete with odd little percussive elements before the full band crash in for the choruses with brass and strings to the fore. ‘The Slide Song’ – never played before (AFAIK) comes to life next with the brass and string elements revealing the song that was one of those most misted up by the swirling, disorientating mix on the record.

    They’ve decided to do the whole album in the recorded sequence which means they recreate the wall of noise that is ‘Electric Phase’ most effectively – this gets a big cheer (Spiritualized fans love a bit of a noise freak out and there are plenty more of those to come). ‘These Blues’ with duelling harmonicas by Jason and Doggen is perhaps the first big ‘banger’ of the night. ‘Take Good Care of It’ was already in their early 90s set in a much more traditional form that would have fitted on their debut album but the Pure Phase version was a startlingly different track – a big floating cloud of gliding sax, organs and a vaguely dubby bassline – and amazingly it is this version that they somehow manage to recreate live.

    I get the sense that this is the kind of gig Jason has always wanted to do – lots of improvisation – horns blasting, trumpet solos, beautiful strings, belting gospel harmony vocals, keyboard and piano veering into free jazz at times rather than 3 chord riffs – he’s still standing up and I can imagine that behind the shades he is really enjoying himself up there.

    The centrepiece of the set is a cover of Laurie Anderson’s ‘Born Never Asked’ segued into ‘Electric Mainline’ and this time they do veer off the rather underwhelming album version and go for a full Kosmiche rhythm driven version with countermelodies spiralling around the venue. This is followed by the euphoric ‘Lay Back in the Sun’ and ‘Good Times’ – perhaps the lightest and most song-based tracks in the set that for any other band would be staples of any gig but I can’t remember the last time I heard these played live.

    They spare us the full 6 minutes of Pure Phase on a loop but they let enough of it play out to say it was on the setlist and the final straight is two big, soulful ballads that close the LP. The Beach Boys influence reveals itself again in the intro to Feels Like Going home which with Pet Sounds percussion and – a Banjo! I hadn’t realised that was on the record but sure enough – there it is and it sounds wonderful – and with the brass section I’m struck by the idea that Spiritualized have all the equipment required to knock out a couple of Dexys numbers if they chose to Too Rye Aye it up a bit – and then come to my senses.

    They get a well deserved standing ovation and encore – for which they pull out a song from the aforementioned ‘Ladies and Gentlemen’ and it’s a mightily powerful ‘Cop Shoot Cop’ – all 15 minutes of it – going deep into a Dr John swampy groove which seems to have everyone hanging on to every note and a chance for all the musicians and singers to have one final blast.

    So it was a good idea to play Pure Phase. This isn’t really an exercise in nostalgia, rather we get to hear new life breathed into an old record and freed from the obsessive detail of the studio mix it’s quite spectacular. I’ve read that Jason wants to do more of these shows and hope he does because more people need to hear the record like this – it’d make a great live LP too.

    I see a fair few people carrying copies of the LP home into the night and hopefully they’ll discover Pure Phase for the first time or do it all over again.

  • High Llamas & Novelty Island

    High Llamas & Novelty Island

     

    We covered High Llamas recently and if you read that review you’ll know we werent about to pass up the chance to see them again as they enchant the people of Liverpool, for the first time in 15 years

    First up though are Novelty Island – the “surreal pop project” of one Tom McConnell who grew up between Newcastle and Liverpool – two tough port cities at opposite ends of the North with huge cultural and musical identities and a lot of inspiration to draw on.

    I was only dimly aware of the band before so I did some homework and listened to a recent release ‘Taped Over’ on Bandcamp which is a really smart record full of glorious, breezy pop hooks but with a woozy, sun-baked electronic edge and those little killer chord changes I always look for in songwriting. There also seem to be some interesting graphic nods to railways and rainbows and geography, this is sure to be good. I make sure I arrive on time to see them.

    I wasn’t sure how this would be presented – maybe a couple of musicians and a laptop – so I’m surprised to see Tom has brought a 6 piece supergroup with him – so many that their drummer is relegated to the side of the stage, on the floor and completely out of sight – we can only just glimpse some sticks flailing behind a speaker stack. Drummer and band take all this in their stride and deliver a thoroughly enjoyable set as the venue gradually fills up. I get to hear the full-band version of what Novelty Island do – big, bold and fully arranged songs like ‘Cowboy on a Bicycle’ and ‘This Bird’ – this is mighty fine stuff.

    There’s an obvious Beatle influence but specifically they remind me of the good bits of the 1970s George Harrison records (that is meant as high praise). I get also a hint of the more adventurous 70s songwriters like Andrew Gold and 10CC spring to mind – and maybe Andy Partridge’s more kaleidoscopic moments and definitely the Irish band Pugwash. This is a great fit for a crowd here to see High Llamas and they go down a treat. I pick up a cassette copy of ‘Taped Over’ at the merch table which seems apt – I now need to work my way through their expanding back catalogue , and so should you.

    High Llamas – much like the support act, tend to be regarded as a solo project for Sean O’Hagan but in fact the same core line up has been there throughout – and here tonight: Marcus Holdaway on keys, Jon Fell on bass, Rob Allum an drums. They’re joined on this tour by O’Hagan junior, Livvy who provides vocal and percussion support making this feel like even more of a family affair. For all of the complexity of the music, the performance is unassuming, informal and a little raggedy. Sean wrestles with a malfunctioning Sampler, has a minor wardrobe malfunction and while tuning-up and recounts a few past tales of mishaps at gigs all of which adds to the charm. The venue, while delightfully laid out and atmopsheric does have a bit of a flaw in that you can hear the band downstairs during quieter moments – which reminds Sean of playing in Seattle downstairs from a very loud grunge band and asking them to turn it down because “we were playing banjos!”.

    The crowd are very reverent, particularly for Liverpool who can be a right chatty lot at times- High Llamas don’t come around very often and people want to just drink it in and listen- but it’s an evening full of joy and each song is met with hearty applause. Like with the Hebden Bridge show ‘Hey Panda’ makes up a lot of the set. It’s the most critically acclaimed Llamas record in many years so I suspect most people know the songs now and it makes a great centerpiece for the set – combining, as it does, the typical baroque pop of Van Dyke Parks or Fred Neil with Sean’s fascination with contemporary hip hop & R&B. The other key work on display is the underrated ‘Snowbug’ which Sean has said is his favourite album and gets 4 tracks in the set – definitely one for a reappraisal.

    The set is pretty much the same as Hebden Bridge last year – complete with ‘Jackie’ (from ‘Here Come the Rattling Trees’) becoming an unlikely audience participation number. They encore with the song that nearly got Sean a job producing the Beach Boys – ‘Checking In, Checking Out’ .Unlike the last time I saw them this is planned and they have worked out the middle 8 and added a lovely coda for the audience to join in again. They could have played another 90 mins and still not run out of fantastic songs, such is the High Lllamas songbook, brimming over with quirky, curious song cycles and skewed grooves.

    A wondrous gig with a very appreciative crowd applauding one of the finest and most idiosyncratic songwriters of our times and his brilliant band in a city that knows one of those when it sees one.

     

  • Anthony Moore – ‘Home of the Demo’

    Anthony Moore – ‘Home of the Demo’

    Anthony Moore has an extraordinary CV that brilliantly straddles the deeply experimental vs some of the most mainstream Pop musical imaginable (of it’s time). How about this – he was part of the collective around the serious-as-your-life avant-rockers Henry Cow and formed the offshoot Slapp Happy – a huge influence on groups like The Fall. He also followed that Rock in Opposition trajectory and produced records with the likes of This Heat – Art Rock royalty basically. So it may come as a surprise that he also wrote a song called ‘No Parlez’ the title track of the gazillion selling Paul Young album (that famously seems to replicate itself in charity shop shelves, such was its ubiquity). He’s a key part of the post-Roger Waters Pink Floyd, collaborating on songs such as ‘Learning to Fly’ but has also worked on countless experimental and exploratory works and art installations which I’m still discovering. His most recent solo release is called ‘Arithmetic in the Dark’ – enough said. He’s comparable to someone like John Cale, or latterly Jim O’Rourke – able to work in mixed media, high art but, as this compilation demonstrates he has an appealing voice and a way with words and song.

    This very satisfying compilation collects lots of unheard material from his archives, mostly home recorded (hence the title and the cover – with Anthony unwinding a C90 with a pencil) but this is no scratchy lo-fi set – bar a few cheap sounding synth and drum machine patches, and you soon forget you’re listening to home demos and just enjoy a smart and intriguing set of would-be Pop hits. Floyd fans will home in on ‘Earthbound Misfit’ (which became ‘Learning to Fly’) but there’s lots more to enjoy. ‘Lucia Still Alive’ is a crunchy take on ‘Low’ era David Bowie, and ‘Coralie’ is a fab Velvet Underground/Roxy style strumfest. Best of the bunch is ‘Me and Neil Diamond’ featuring the unmistakable croon of Ian McCulloch recorded sometime in the mid-80s. It sounds like a song that 10 years later could have set Britpop era Radio 1 ablaze (and perhaps a counterpoint to ‘The Ballad of Tom Jones’) with it’s Easy Listening reference and ‘I can’t stop smoking and drinking and having a good time’ refrain – except that Moore uses a wrong-footing time signature that threatens to derail poor Ian but perhaps reflects the ‘all at sea’ motif in the lyrics.

  • Walker Not Walker

    Walker Not Walker

    I’m in a busy room above a pub on a Friday night in Glossop. Glasses are being clinked and over on the stage a tribute band are tuning up and getting ready to entertain the punters – except that there’s a swirling drone of discordant synthesised strings beginning to swell from the P.A. and that’s because 3 unassuming blokes in winter hats, jumpers and jeans are about to start their set – not with Sweet Caroline or Brown Eyed Girl but with…er…’The Electrician’ an extraordinarily dark, gothic epic from the 1978 Walker Brothers album ‘Nite Flights’. Of course this is no ordinary pub (it’s an independently run Vegan pub with it’s own brewery) and this is no ordinary night – our hosts are The Black Circle an arts collective who’ve been promoting a series of progressive and adventurous events but with a strong ethos of being welcoming and inclusive (i.e the ‘guest list’ is strictly for those with low incomes and the gigs are timed so people can get home before our creaky transport network winds down for the night – certain Manchester promoters should take note!)

    I’m in time to see support act Tekrar Eden who have come over the hills from Sheffield – a two piece – bass and drummer with beards, loops and samples – they’re rooted in Jazz but the more atmospheric, darker and electronic end of it with bass to the fore – albeit a bass with loads of strings on it that can play nice, weird chords. They’re really good and what they play seems a fitting preamble to the headliner.

    So, there was no way I was going to miss a band who describe themselves as “Mancunian goth/avant-rock power trio performing the music of Scott Walker and The Walker Brothers” and oh boy Walker Not Walker do not disappoint. So how on earth do you tackle the back catalogue of Scott Walker who went from child star, to 60s Pop Idol, to cult late 60s bedsit baroque icon, to being set up to fail as the next Tom Jones, to boozy 70s chicken-in-a-basket club turn and failing MOR recording artist, to spending the mid 90s onwards becoming one of the most uncompromising, imposing and extreme musical artists of the 21st Century? Well, let’s find out.

    Walker Not Walker’s set in fact draws heavily from 2 records. The first is Scott’s sole 1980s LP ‘Climate of Hunter’ – which is a fascinating and brilliant record and with guest spots from his pals Mark Knopfler and Billy Ocean, his record label might have expected this 60s star to boss the 80s like say, Steve Winwood did – but Scott had other ideas. The 2nd is the volcanic and frequently terrifying ‘Tilt’ – which came 11 years later and is the dividing line where you either go with it into the deep depths of what followed or you make your excuses and hurtle back (to the relative safety of those bleak but satisfying orchestral hits of Scott 1 to 4). This high art version of Scott – approaching Lieder (art song) territory is WNWs ‘sweet spot’ and so they do a magnificent job of ‘Patriot’ for instance – a long and complex piece from ‘Tilt’ (with whistling replacing the flute part). It’s amazing how well these songs fit the 3 piece goth power trio format – ‘Face on Breast’ is done with a propulsive motorik drive like Joy Division (which the recorded version does have but I’d never noticed before). The songs from ‘Climate of Hunter’ really come to life in this formation too – perhaps the closest Scott came to Post-punk and you’ll be wanting to play that record again after hearing WNW’s take on it.

    They dip into earlier stuff too – obviously without a massive string section it’s hard to busk songs from Scott’s 60s heyday with a gothic rock power-trio but they make light work of ‘On Your Own Again’ from Scott 4, ‘Black Sheep Boy’ from Scott 2 which provide calm between the stormier moments (WNW deploy explosions of feedback to emulate the string section). They close with an effortlessly gliding ‘Nite Flights’, the song that humbled Bowie & Eno having heard Scott and John Walker had stolen a march on them in moving Pop music forward into the future. Wow.

    This is music that was mostly never peformed live in Scott’s lifetime, and yet these 3 modest chaps (who break the spell with their reassuring between-song banter) make it work and bring these songs to life -and (sorry to labour the point) but I’m hearing this astonishing, hard to fathom music in a room above a pub in front of an appreciative audience gathered around old bar stools and tables.

    I can’t help thinking the man himself would have loved it not least because WNW were not overly reverential and seemingly fearless in their choice of his material. If you love Scott’s music do not pass up the chance to see Walker Not Walker….they’ll thrill you and thrill you and thrill you…..