James Walbourne, Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou, Sea of Bees - The Captain's Rest
Posted in SHOFT on Sunday 13th February 2011 at 11:02pm
It was a strange week for gigs in Glasgow. As ever there was an embarrassment of riches on offer, and when Edinburgh was linked into the equation, it all got very complicated. However, oddly, everything seemed to have focused on Friday evening. Having nailed my colours to the mast of Conquering Animal Sound some time back, this made the choice a little easier. However, with the cities all gigged-out over the previous two nights, Sunday presented a challenge. Then I spotted this curious event. Heavenly Records, formerly home of a variety of very hip artistes in the 1990s including Saint Etienne among others, has recently undergone something of a reinvention. With the label now focusing on more folk-based Americana, this tour attempts to showcase three of their more recent signings. So it was back to the familiar dungeon of The Captain's Rest via a less confusing bus ride this time. The venue was a little quieter, and as I descended to hear the first act I was a little concerned it might be very quiet indeed.
James Walbourne kicked off proceedings to a fairly empty, but gradually filling room. Performing on acoustic guitar, accompanied by his brother, he trades in a rough-edged, regret-tainted American blues. His songs are compact, complete stories which he sometimes seemed to get lost in - the duo reviving themselves with an initially amusing but ultimately a little wearing 'duelling banjos' finally at the end of more than one song. There is no doubting these gents' technical skills, and James is clearly a songwriter of some craft and pedigree. However, there is something of placing ones head in the lion's mouth here... after all, Glasgow has produced an endless stream of very successful acts in this alt-country and folk vein. Things take an interesting turn when a mandolin and a washboard come into play, and we're treated to a joyous romp through "Waiting Room Blues". On these simpler compositions, James seems able to stretch his legs, enjoy the space they allow and not get bogged down in attempting to write to a formula. The set ended on a high, with the room a little busier and the Walbourne brothers clearly pleased they'd made a few converts tonight.
Next up were Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou. It seems like much longer than a month since I sat in a chilly metal church in Edithmead watching this remarkable duo performing. The format tonight was the same - a single microphone, two eerily similar voices, and lots of warm, engaging and genuine music. Kicking off with the new song "Spin Me A Rhyme", the set was largely based around the new album - due in April and the pair's first for Heavenly. As ever, Trevor started lots of rambling stories about the origin of songs, which it was left for Hannah-Lou to rescue from whimsy! It's a pleasure to watch them perform, and it was interesting to note the generally rather talkative Captain's Rest crowd standing in rapt silence between songs on a number of occasions. The response to the set closing "Cheap Wine" was particularly rapturous, and I was struck again how these seemingly simple songs, performed on the most minimal of instrumentation can fill a room and demand attention. For my own part, I wondered if the novelty might wear off a little seeing them performing in a more traditional venue, but it was really good to see them again and their genuine warmth and remarkable skill with a tune left a notoriously tricky Glasgow audience equally impressed. I now can't wait to see them again, though this opinion may change if the back of my head features in their forthcoming 'Eleven Nights Under Tin' film!
If the accusation of delivering whimsical stage banter is levelled at Trevor Moss, then I'm not entirely sure how to describe the curious but engaging casual soul-bearing in which Jules Baenziger aka Sea of Bees indulges before, during and after her short set. Jules is an interesting character in herself - a curious bubble of positive energy and wistful regret which appears to flip on the turn of a coin. Her songs are much the same - slight, near silent passages crash into heavy-handed, pained endings. Her voice varying from a slight high-pitched waver, to a howl of pain. At several points I'm reminded of the voice and songwriting of Mary Gauthier - another largely autobiographical writer. Accompanied only by Amber on electric guitar, Sea of Bees weave intricate but often rather inexplicable and inaudible tales with names such as "Wizbot" and "Gnomes". Jules explains her motivations before these songs, often focusing on her wish to express a single feeling or a thought which is difficult in words or in person. This confessional aspect makes Sea of Bees engaging but sometimes uncomfortably voyeuristic listening. The audience however loved the music and the unlikely duo performing it.
Trundling home on the bus, I pondered the brave and unlikely direction that Heavenly Records have taken. These artists aren't going to be selling buckets of CDs, that's for sure - but they offer integrity, craft and honesty...rare qualities in the music business, and particularly in the trade of the journeyman singer-songwriter which all too often descends into murky cover versions and crowd-pleasing blandness. An enlightening evening with some old friends, and hopefully some new ones too.
A few years back I wrote a foolishly impassioned entry on my more whimsical and less interesting personal blog about Zoey Van Goey. At that point, two clever and engaging singles into their existence, I knew I'd unearthed something worth watching. Something which seemed to combine the thrill of short, simple pop songs with the storytelling ethic of folk music - but without any of the painful sense of forced tweeness which is usually never far from such efforts. That the band have turned in a joyous, intelligent and almost impossibly varied second album isn't a surprise at all, but it's packed with them from start to finish.
Its plain to hear that Zoey Van Goey still have an embarassment of riches in the vocal department - with Kim Moore's high, clear vocals soaring over Matt Brennan's incredibly flexible voice which lends itself equally to racing, punky pop of "Robot Tyrannosaur" and the tender slide-guitar swooning album-closer "Where It Lands". Singing duties seem to be shared a little more evenly than on the first album, but they still feel most affecting when dueling or duetting - particularly on the gentle, but lyrically entangling "Extremities". The straightforward indie-pop hit on this record - if indeed that's an accurate description of any of these eleven compositions - is surely going to be "Sackville Sun". I've seen some attempts to compare this kindly or otherwise to Belle and Sebastian. I can see the links - but I can't help but feel there's more than a little gentle parody of over-studied art-school songwriters in this song. It descends into a strange Gary Numan-esque finale as Kim imagines what an "eight track of her favourite bands" might sound like, and its impossible not to feel the conspiratorial glee with which the stereotypes are demolished - by the force of unabashed fun and clever lyrics!
The sheer range of instruments and musical styles employed on 'Propeller Versus Wings' keep this record as fresh and surprising as those first two singles I fell in love with. The album opens with a perhaps entirely unexpected squall of mechanical noise as "Mountain on Fire", and works it's way through piano, accordion and all manner of percussion and string accompaniments alongside the usual tools of the modern band. By the time the curious "Another Day Another Disaster" has arrived, the band are indulging in what sounds like a French waltz with a raucous percussion section barely containing it's surfeit of energy for the song's clattering ending. The brass band onslaught of the infectiously clever Matt-led "You Told The Drunks I Knew Karate" needs to be heard to be believed. Zoey Van Goey's strength seems to lie in their ability to turn their hands to almost anything, and to make it strangely, compellingly their own. A small band with an unashamedly sizable talent for writing pop songs shouldn't really have this kind of range at their disposal - but they do. The even better realisation is that they probably have plenty more where this came from.
On "The Cake And Eating It" Kim sings "If it works, then it's probably worth repeating it". It does work, and on this remarkably infectious, clever and entertaining second album they haven't repeated themselves at all.
Zoey Van Goey - Sackville Sun
Lost::MikeGTN
I've had a home on the web for more years than I care to remember, and a few kind souls persuade me it's worth persisting with keeping it updated. This current incarnation of the site is centred around the blog posts which began back in 1999 as 'the daylog' and continued through my travels and tribulations during the following years.
I don't get out and about nearly as much these days, but I do try to record significant events and trips for posterity. You may also have arrived here by following the trail to my former music blog Songs Heard On Fast Trains. That content is preserved here too.
