Reviews.Music.
A ray of northern sunshine Live The Sunshine Underground Plug 9/02/2010 Four years and many demo tracks later, The Sunshine Underground are back with their second album, Nobody’s Coming To Save You. The night saw the Leedsbased band playing a nearfull capacity Plug. They were preceded on stage by support act Cosmo Jarvis, who provided a lighthearted, upbeat set and impressed those who were willing to listen. Hitting the stage with lead single and new album opener ‘Coming To Save You’, The Sunshine Underground set the tone for a lively set and a solid performance. Beginning with a mixture of tracks from
the two albums, they then proceeded to play songs predominantly from the second album.
The Dawn Chorus charm Monday night’s crowd.
Esben and theWitch The Harley 9/02/2010
Photo: Paula Goodall self-absorption just came to be seen as enthusiasm. The band’s intelligent and intricate melodies led to a reception from the crowd that only served to spur them on further. Esben and the Witch ended with a melodramatic storm of a song that left the crowd chanting for a second encore. Rosie Rogers
Live The Dawn Chorus The Harley 15/02/2010 The Dawn Chorus, a band from Portsmouth that’s been gathering quite a buzz from the likes of Steve Lamacq with their brand of folk rock, brought a nine song set that never let down. After an instrumental introduction, ‘Guilt’ began, and if people weren’t paying
Wellington attempt to sing a cappella, with the crowd singing back to him word for word before the rest of
the band kicked in and the crowd kicked off. The crowd peaked again at the end of the band’s
attention before, they sure were by the end of it. The combination of some classic alt-country with very fast shredding (courtesy of lead guitarist Neil Elliot) transformed the piece into a hooking experience. Not all was a display of loud music, as a slow, introspective moment came with ‘Schumman’, a song about the classical composer and his wife Clara. With sweet lines like “Oh, they say that I’m insane/ but darling they’re blind/ If I’m crazy/ I’m crazy for you”, the song was a real gem to listen to, showing another layer for a band capable of balancing quiet moments with loud intervals. Current single ‘Carnivalesque’ got a good reception, featuring a haunting sound that certainly didn’t detract from the pace of the gig. When all was said and done, The Dawn Chorus displayed great musical skills while providing good entertainment (and a few ringing ears).
hair and broad Yorkshire vowels. With seven band members in total counting a mildly eccentric collection of two female lead vocalists, The Eden House included an ex sound engineer for Pink Floyd and a violinist old enough to have fathered the rest of the band. It seems that rather than setting out to create something as unconventional as their appearance, these musicians have assembled over a love of slightly bland, psychedelic and prog-tinged goth music. That is not to say that The Eden House’s set was comprehensively dull. In fact, it contained many small triumphs. Amandine Ferrari’s voice was both soulful and powerful, soaring majestically into the chorus of ‘All My Love’, while at other times softer, dark and brooding. She won over the crowd not only with her singing voice but also with her witty
Samuel Valdes Lopez
Gig Gallery
Chris Polechonski
brand of charming French banter. Ferrari and fellow female vocalist Valenteen’s voices complemented each other nicely, as the latter’s was of a far more delicate nature. Their fresh approach to sharing vocal duties involved leaving the stage alternately, whilst weaving enchanting harmonies elsewhere. Sadly however, there were too many numbers which dragged on for a good ten minutes for no obvious reason. The song-writing was of a high calibre, but often included mid-sections made up of a semi-psychedelic wall of sustained and plodding guitar sequences, sequences which did not develop sufficiently to merit their inclusion. Bar the oddities of their appearance though, they are just not all that captivating and ultimately a bit forgettable. Alex Burgess
Live The Eden House Corporation 11/02/2010
Fuse.
Brighton-based musicians Esben and the Witch lived up to their much-awaited expectations when they played at The Harley. Wetting our appetites prior to the main act, Double No No pulled off an acoustic set which transported the audience to an eerie desert, filled with grunge and country sounds that left you thirsting for just that little bit more. Similarly, Sian Alice Group played to their usual standards, combining passionate echoing melodies and abstract crescendos. Those aside however, the true stars of the night had to be Esben and the Witch. Tackling the challenge of playing after two bands with female singers,
Esben dodged the risk of blending in or sounding too monotonous. Their dramatic beats vibrated through the audience and reconfirmed the fact that this band is undeniably worth seeing live. Playing popular songs such as ‘Marching Song’ and ‘Skeleton Swoon’, the group created a vortex of gothic electronica that travelled around the room and hit us from all available corners. Immersing themselves fully in the haunting and desolate sound in which they create, it at times seemed as if they were more into their music than anybody else was. However, after a few songs, lead singer Rachel Davies’ catchy rhythmic voice had successfully flirted with the minds of those listening to create a sinister but playful composition that turned this presumption around. What was not instantly liked became loved and their
Highlight of the night was undoubtedly ‘Borders’; the first verse saw vocalist and lead guitarist Craig
While sound techs readied equipment and positioned obligatory cans of lager on guitar amps, Corporation began to progressively fill with a collection of middleaged goths and mettlers. Not a student in sight, but a plethora of greying mohicans punctuated by manifold piercings, slightly tatty leathers, copious facial
Friday February 19 2010
Live
Photo: Trevorjono
Craig Wellington provides crowd-pleasing anthems.
hour-long set in the single song encore, which, after an extended intro, fan favourite ‘Put You In Your Place’ was played, finishing with the crowd bouncing and chanting the hook line “I’m on top but you’re trying to stop me now.” The big beats and effects that are mastered so well on record were transferred just as powerfully on to stage. Also, something else worth admiring was the strength of Wellington’s voice, especially on new album tracks such as ‘Spell It Out’ and ‘Change Your Mind’. The overall performance was strong and energetic, providing great entertainment for the fans. Although The Sunshine Underground have the capability of playing larger venues, they themselves prefer playing to smaller crowds and with this show, as is often the case, this does provide a better gig.
Maths scream down The Harley on February 6. Photo: Sam Bennett
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