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(Cooking Vinyl)

When a journalist asked Rufus Wainwright what sound he was aspiring toward on 2007’s Release the Stars, he replied, “I’m going for the sound of cash registers.” Tired of winning the respect of fellow practitioners, bored of his reputation as a ‘songwriter’s songwriter’ and frustrated at his lack of crossover appeal, he craved a hit song and radio play. The same story goes with Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith. Feted by everyone from Bob Dylan to Elvis Costello, Feist to Nick Hornby and even Chris Martin to Michael Bublé, Sexsmith, like Wainwright, has been at the mercy of his craft. So entrenched in the styles and techniques of past masters, Sexsmith’s records belong neither to the mainstream nor the alternative scene that has flourished in his native Canada in recent years. He is not name-checked by the same people who listen to Bill Callahan or Ryan Adams, nor has he been warmly received by fans of Elton John or indeed Michael Bublé, with whom Sexsmith recorded a cover of ‘Whatever it Takes’ from Sexsmith’s 2004 album Retriever.

On Long Player Late Bloomer, his 11th studio album, Sexsmith is going for broke. Enlisting fellow Canadian Bob Rock (Metallica, Bon Jovi), the end product is an accessible, radio-friendly, Technicolor pop record full of songs that would have troubled the charts in the 1970’s. Opener ‘Get in Line’ is full of snappy, confessional verses about being the bridesmaid and never the bride: ‘Heavey clouds all around/ And the Sun refuses to shine…better get in line’. Its country leanings are homely, the hooks infectious. ‘Believe it When I See It,’ like single ‘Love Shines,’ is eerily reminiscent of Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles work. His progressive and fluid melodies, coupled with Bob Rock’s generous mix, full of slide guitar, strings and piano, scream “radio play, please!!!” very, very loudly.

Sexsmith’s preoccupations with small town life – a consistent theme throughout his previous ten records – are not drowned out by Rock’s lush arrangements. ‘Michael and His Dad,’ one of the best songs Sexsmith has ever written, is a simple story about a widower and his son. Set against a jaunty pop tune, the sudden and unexpected turn of intensity in the middle eight is beautifully timed. Sexsmith sings ‘Mother’s gone to the land of safe keeping/ Michael walking from the grave/ says “Dad, she’s only sleeping”’ with an urgency and syllabic precision rarely heard in contemporary pop music.

At times, however, the record is too concerned with its accessibility. Sexsmith eschews the character of previous releases and, throughout, one hopes for an even balance between Sexsmith’s gift for crafting the ideal pop song and the more intimate, intense songs of previous releases, where he is accompanied solely by a guitar or piano. There are though enough rich and well-crafted pop songs here that will, in an ideal world, win Sexsmith, a host of new admirers.

Originally published on State.ie

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Those passing by The Academy on Abbey Street must think that Morrissey has gone all Americana. Fortunately for all of us inside, he hasn’t. The bespectacled young men in check shirts, of which there are many in The Academy tonight, are here to spend the evening in the company of The Hold Steady; or perhaps more aptly, Craig Finn’s America. For Finn’s America is one populated with big losers in love, killer parties, massive nights and mornings spent shaking off the remnants of last night’s party. Classic rock and punk are in harmony with one another, and tales of mall rats and little hoodrat friends slip off his tongue with ease.

On the surface, a Hold Steady gig resembles that of a Shane McGowan / Pogues gig; crazed debauchery fits in with the feel of the music, and there’s more of a house party feel to the proceedings than that of a live performance. Front man Craig Finn is animated, jovial, humble and inclusive. Frequently making eye contact with the audience and jumping around the stage like a cross between a hardcore singer and a stadium rocker, Finn’s narrative- driven lyrics adds to the intimacy of the night’s proceedings.

But something is apparently missing, and the band’s more than devoted following can spot it from a mile a way. Franz Nicolay, keyboard and piano player with the band, quit the band some time ago, and his absence is felt sharply in the band’s sound. Though The Hold Steady has beefed up their sound with the help rhythm guitarist Steve Selvidge (formerly of Memphis alt country rockers, Lucero), tunes with the central, E- Street – influenced piano lines, such as ‘Stevie Nix’, ‘Stuck Between Stations’ and ‘Chips Ahoy!’ sound empty. It’s of little consolation, but if you listen hard enough, you can hear many fans humming the piano lines to these songs.

What unfortunately also works against the band on the night is the one- dimensional feel of the setlist, which could leave a first-time listener of the band to believe that almost every song they’ve written is in the same tempo and, almost, the same key. Even songs like ‘First Night’ or ‘Citrus’ could have changed the mood a little and saved the band (and the audience) from being on the receiving end of a monotonous setlist.

The Hold Steady have, unquestionably, heart. They know what makes a good, solid rock show and, in Craig Finn, they have a front man who is fearless, playful and, crucially, has something to say. But without keyboard player Nicolay and refusing to give Finn’s lyrics the 360-degree view- musically- that they need, they’re in danger of becoming rock’s worst case scenario: a riff- heavy band that turn the amps up to 11 to compensate for what isn’t there.

Originally published on State.ie

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Daniel Martin Moore – In the Cool of the Day 

(Sub Pop)

It all started on a 9-foot Steinway piano in a radio studio in Cincinnati, Ohio. On that piano, kept in-house and once used by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Martin Moore rediscovered his love of Appalachian folk songs and family gospel music, both of which he had heard growing up in Cold Spring, Kentucky.

From the opening bars of ‘All Ye Tenderhearted’, performed a cappella, it’s clear that a smooth, sparse set of songs is set to follow. Moore has stayed very close to the feel of these spiritual songs and hasn’t, thankfully, diluted them with a twee, quirky, indie-folk kitsch feel for fans of Bon Iver or The Low Anthem. His voice, smooth and light, doesn’t intrude too much; the piano, guitar and banjo (courtesy of Jim James of My Morning Jacket) does much of the work. Even more, refreshing is how Moore underplays the songs. Instead of over-dramatising gospel music, as performers often do when bringing the songs to life through folk instruments, he plays them as he would if he were at a session in the corner of a bar.

All of this said, Moore adjusts and adapts the material to make it work for the album. Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s ‘Up Above My Head’, is much more restrained than Tharpe’s electric guitar driven version, which uses classic gospel handclaps as percussion. Moore, instead, performs it as he would a Django Reinhardt number and this relaxed feel, complete with gently shuffling drums and a fiddle, neutralises the flow of the record and moves just a couple of steps up from the most tranquil songs included here.

The same upbeat feel refreshes ‘Dark Road’, known better to American roots aficionado’s as G.B. Grayson and Henry Whittier’s ‘A Dark Road is Hard to Travel’, where Moore stays faithful to the musical arrangements but gives it a fresh feel and even adds on lines here and there. Throughout the record, he skillfully shifts the mood, most notably in ‘In the Garden’, which here, is bass-led with lilting piano lines, restless drums and Moore’s crisp voice.

With the help of Jim James, Moore has crafted an album that clocks in at 30 minutes, leaves a lasting impression and convincingly taps into an important traditional form of American song. And as good as the covers, and indeed a couple of Moore originals- are, the winner here is the sound, feel and overall production values of the record. A must for fans of Bob Dylan’s Modern Times, Elton John & Leon Russell’s The Union and other assorted T- Bone Burnett produced albums.

Originally published on State.ie

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Jenny & Johnny - I'm Having Fun, Now
Jenny & Johnny – I’m Having Fun Now

(Warners)

The efforts by male and female duos in recent years- Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, She & Him, and now Jenny and Johnny- have seen an oft neglected form back in vogue; quirky and gimmicky though it may seem. A couple off- stage, the fluid chemistry between Rilo Kiley front woman Jenny Lewis and Scottish-American singer-songwriter Johnathan Rice is convincing and produces hummable melodies and memorable harmonies. Lewis, in part, leaves the country and folk roots of her excellent solo debut, Rabbit Fur Coat, behind and taps into her indie- pop roots through Rice. His versatile vocals and range can be haunting, angelic and aggressive (sometimes all at once), which work well against Lewis’ fine, piercing vocals that recall country music’s Great Dames: Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Loretta Lynn.

At the core of I’m Having Fun Now is, as the title implies, two friends and lovers going through their record collection and discovering what pop music has influenced them both. Opener ‘Scissors Runner’ is a perfect example of the definite influence of 80’s and 90’s indie pop music, recalling both Reckoning- era R.E.M.’s ‘Second Guessing’ and The Lemonheads’ ‘Alison’s Starting to Happen’ from ‘It’s a Shame About Ray’. ‘Just Like Zeus’ begins with the drone of guitars so reminiscent Of The Jesus and Mary Chain but quickly blends with the country pop that so defines the record.

Like many male/female duo records, the lyrics are often informed by gender politics and in ‘My Pet Snakes’ Lewis bashes female sell-outs with the ribald humor of Alex Turner (“I don’t believe in sucking my way to the top’). Such brash, sweeping statements are countered by the beautiful, dreamy Americana of ‘Switchblade’, led by Jonathan Rice and indicative of his solo work- particularly Trouble is Real. It’s followed by the Rilo Kiley- esque ‘Big Wave’, the flagship single of the record. Covering the current economic crisis, it doesn’t take an unusual angle or offer new insight into the situation or the lives of those affected, as a John Prine or Conor Oberst song would. Although the melody and harmonies are infectious, the lyrics (“And we save our money in good faith/ and we work hard for a living wage/ but still the banks got a break”) sounds like trite, teenage poetry. The final track, ‘Committed’, is a rollicking country- rock tune that, although too close for comfort to Billy Ray Cyrus’ ‘Achy Breaky Heart’, is a hilarious run through recent events in America (For God and Country/ For Michael Jackson’s monkey).

Fans of Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley and many other acts associated with Saddle Creek records will, inevitably, love this very companionable album that connects with contemporary America through a love of old records. A recording chemistry that no-one can fake and contagious harmonies that you’ll be singing for weeks on end. Most of all, it’s great fun.

Originally published on State.ie

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Playing their first ever headline show in Dublin since supporting Interpol at The Olympia in April 2005, Spoon have since been the subject of massive critical kudos (Music review aggregator Metacritic declared Spoon “Top Overall Artist of the Decade’ based on critical acclaim). Record sales in the US match critical acclaim, partly due to “The O.C. Effect” that saw 2002 single ‘The Way We Get By’ featured on the show, followed by cover features in Spin Magazine. On this side of the Atlantic, they remain the interest of Wilco/Bright Eyes/Death Cab for Cutie fans and a best-kept secret amongst other music fans.

Tonight, they draw from their seven studio albums, chiefly this year’s Billboard Top 5 recordTransference. Front man Britt Daniel and keyboard player Eric Harvey are first to take to the stage, opening the evening with an acoustic version of ‘The Mystery Zone’, which is tonight transformed into a heady, psych- folk song. Backed with keyboards that Air would kill for, Daniel’s impassioned vocal – reminiscent of Frank Black but a much broader range – is the primary force of the song. He can veer from a tenor’s roar to an angelic falsetto that looms in the background and, like Thom Yorke, Daniel uses his voice as another instrument in the band.

With clear roots in classic rock, garage rock and post punk, Spoon never actually play into the genres that have influenced them but rather make them fresh and new by refusing to appropriate the styles as so many bands have. Instead, they mix and match. ‘Someone Something’ feels like a song off The White Album but when played in the context of other Spoon’s songs tonight, it seems unmistakably like a Spoon number. Daniel’s ragged vocals, harmonious handclaps, pulsating bass lines and drummer Jim Eno’s largely conventional but equally unpredictable and shifty drums define this Spoon song.

On ‘Written in Reverse’ that they seem as if they are loose, chaotic and playing off the cuff but are an incredibly tight band that give themselves room to take the song into other places. Harvey’s bar-room piano is the focus of all the song’s rhythm, which has every limb in the audience moving from side to side. Never does the band lose sight of the rhythm and beat of the song, generated chiefly by piano rather than the bass and drums and capitalized on by Daniel’s terse, cutting guitar playing. At some points during the show, it’s hard to believe Daniel is the only guitar player on stage as he riffs and solos over a wall of distortion. Followed by crowd pleasers such as the sleazy, slow- burning, soul- funk of ‘I Turn My Camera On’, fan favorite ‘I Summon You’, breakthrough ‘The Way We Get By’ and The Supremes-meets-Teenage Fanclub of ‘You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb’, Spoon reveal themselves not only as a pop band but a throwback to many bands from the 1990s (of which they were one having formed in 1996), a time when some alternative rock bands seemed to have an endless list of either singles or potential singles in their canon.

The band’s encore is explosive with a three shot combo. First is ‘My Mathematical Mind’, which builds and builds for all of five minutes, the band keeping the tempo steady and allowing Daniel to take chunks out of his guitar. What follows is Spoon’s most infectious pop song, the mariachi pop of ‘The Underdog’, the hook of which has the humming and hollering at every chorus and finishes with an equally rousing ‘Rhythm and Soul’.

As the band leaves the stage and the lights come up on a dazed and delighted Dublin audience, the strains of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ can be heard blaring from the PA. One can’t help but feel that Spoon is still America’s best-kept secret.

Originally published by State.ie

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Swaggering on stage to a Northern Soul compilation, Paul Weller and his Merry Men open with ‘Aim High’, an energetic and soulful ballad from his latest record, Wake Up the Nation, which, along with its predecessor 22 Dreams, is universally considered a return to form for The Modfather. His streamlined band effortlessly injects so much rhythm and soul into the track without overloading on backup singers and additional percussionists that it’s hard to believe that there are only five musicians on stage. From ‘Aim High’ right through to live staples ‘The Changing Man’, The Jam’s ‘That’s Entertainment’ and The Style Council’s ‘Shout to the Top!’ is a groove of songs that are ferocious and exhilarating, rendering Weller and his band as a force of nature. Weller moves from guitar to piano for the Dr. John-esque ‘Trees’ and the wary, late night feel of ‘Invisible’, which brings the tempo right down as the band take a breather.

What then follows is a cluster of songs that are a revision of Weller’s punk roots. Recent additions to his songbook, ‘Fast Car/Slow Traffic’, the state of the nation address of ‘Wake Up the Nation’ and ‘Come On, Let’s Go!’ fuse effectively with The Jam’s ‘Start!’ and, most notably, ‘Pretty Green’, The Jam’s angry, vitriolic riposte against consumerism, which more than strikes a chord with this Dublin audience.

An encore of the deep, lilting ‘Broken Stones’, from 1995’s Stanley Road and the jazzy and chaotic ‘Pieces of a Dream’ offer respite and have the crowd swaying to Weller’s gentle and fluid playing on mellotron and piano, respectively. Weller returns to guitar for The Jam’s ‘Art School’, followed by an impressive version of The Jam’s ‘Scrape Away’. Its post-punk darkness and intensity feel like a summary of the encore. During the 2nd Encore, the archetypal solo-Weller song ‘Peacock Suit’ is followed by a sprawling and heady ‘Whirpool’s End’, a song which encapsulates Weller’s at times gruff, at times angry, at times soulful voice as the band harmonize, take advantage of the space to jam, tune in, tune out and elevate the show to unprecedented heights with a seemingly endless crescendo.

What becomes most apparent, tonight is what Weller does so well live: he shows you that anything he’s written recently can sit beside his previous work with The Jam and The Style Council, regarding style and, sometimes, regarding quality. Recent songs are meticulously placed against his wealth of previous material to reflect each other. Not only does he show you that, of late, he has written jazz-structured pop, not unlike The Style Council, but that Weller is as angry on Wake Up the Nation as he was on In the City, Sound Effects or Setting Sons. Weller’s most impressive live achievement (topped only by Neil Young) is his ability to start working with the conventions of a song’s verse-chorus-verse structure, only to abandon those conventions mid-flow, disappear into a jam, loosen up the feel of the song, add interesting dimensions that may not be there on record, only to return full circle to the song as if nothing happened. That, unquestionably, is Paul Weller’s 23rd Dream.

Originally published by State.ie

Set List for Paul Weller – Live at The Olympia Theatre, Dublin, November 16th, 2010

Aim High
Into Tomorrow
Changing Man
Porcelain Gods
Moonshine
Andromeda
All I Wanna Do (is be with you)
That’s Entertainment
No Tears to Cry
Shout to the Top!
Trees
22 Dreams
Invisible
Empty Ring
Fast Car/Slow Traffic
Pretty Green
Start!
Wake Up the Nation
Come On, Let’s Go

Encore
Broken Stones
Pieces of a Dream
Art School
Scrape Away

2nd Encore
Peacock Suit
Whirpool’s End

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Ray Davies – See My Friends

(Universal Records)

As if to confirm his status as an “Elder Statesman of Rock” status, Ray Davies has turned in his second album of reworkings and collaborations of Kinks songs. Like 2009’s Kinks Choral Collection, See My Friends feels like a tokenistic record. The inevitable question is this: does anyone need t re-record songs by The Kinks?

The answer is a resounding “no”, but you can’t deny his effort here. Some of the covers add extra dimensions to Davies’ songs, and they transcend the nostalgic boundaries that the original recordings can invoke. Springsteen’s ‘Better Things’, for example, feels like a Tom Petty number and the sentiment of the song’s chorus: “I hope tomorrow you find better things/ I know tomorrow you’ll find better things” is classic Springsteen. Similarly impressive is Lucinda William’s excellent version of ‘Long Way from Home’. Williams and Davies remove the song from the piano-led, English folk-tinged original and turn it into a rough n’ ready, alt. Country ballad, complete with Hammond organ. William’s voice, full of character, and Davies’ harmonies give the impression that, whatever the style, it’s a great song.

Also particularly successful are Mumford & Sons’ medley of ‘Days /, This Time, Tomorrow’, Paloma Faith’s ‘Lola’, Amy MacDonald’s ‘Dead End Street’ and Spoon’s ‘See My Friends’. In all cases, the artists covering the songs understand the essence of the songs, managing as they do to add interesting angles and context. They strip the songs of any ’60s nostalgia and play the songs for their feel, more than anything.

Less successful are Jon Bon Jovi & Richie Sambora’s audacious and overblown ‘Celluloid Heroes’ and the cringe worthy medley of ‘All Day And All of the Night/Destroyer’, complete with Billy Corgan’s insufferable, sneering vocals, which add little and take more from a classic song. Particularly unsuccessful is Metallica’s ‘You Really Got Me’. It’s nothing more than an exercise in styling a song as heavy metal as possible.

A mixed bag then. The uninitiated should first look to those classic Kinks records- Face to Face, Something Else by the Kinks and The Kinks are the Village Preservation Green Preservation Society- before arriving at this tokenistic cash- in.

Originally published by State.ie

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Former Afghan Whigs front man Greg Dulli – the once infamous, self-styled lothario of grunge – stands centre-stage like a youthful Johnny Cash, dressed in black and playing a Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar. A commanding presence, he is flanked only by Dave Rosser on guitar and Polyphonic Spree’s violist, Rick Nelson. Billed as “An Evening with Greg Dulli”, it marks a change of atmosphere from his recent shows with Mark Lanegan which were, to say the least, both brooding and sobering.

Tonight there is an unavoidable awkwardness to the idea of an acoustic Greg Dulli solo show, which isn’t there in the solo acoustic shows of, say, Jeff Tweedy, Ryan Adams or Mark Eitzel. Those mentioned hold American roots music so familiar that they can effortlessly tap into various traditions and styles with only an acoustic guitar. In doing so, they breathe new life into songs that they have played throughout their careers. In contrast, Dulli’s heroes were always soul musicians such as Marvin Gaye, Al Green and Steve Wonder; music that would seem less fitting on folk instruments. Along with Dulli’s limitations as a guitarist, this doesn’t bode well for the evening.

Dulli, however, plays to his strengths. He elicits moods and atmospheres from the wealth of material he has accumulated from his stints in The Afghan Whigs, The Twilight Singers and The Gutter Twins. The set leans towards his work with The Twilight Singers; ‘The Killer’, ‘Candy Cane Crawl’ and set closer ‘The Twilight Kid’ are all aired along with a stunning version of ‘Teenage Wristband’, which incorporates a verse from The Who’s ‘Pinball Wizard’. Predictably, the songs that provoke the most sing-alongs are those by The Afghan Whigs. ‘Uptown Again’ and ‘66’, pure pop songs from The Afghan Whigs’ 1998 masterpiece 1965, provide an upbeat twist, as does ‘If I Were Going’ from 1993’s Gentlemen. From 1996’s Black Love, ‘Step into the Light’ is a dreamy, slide-guitar affair that offers respite in the middle section of the show.

The song that translates on the acoustic instruments most successfully, however, is ‘The Stations’, a Gutter Twins track that achieves the kind of gothic country darkness of which Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy could dream. Yearning and menacing in equal measure, it involves the whole band more than any other song performed on the night and captures the intensity of the live setting more convincingly than any other song performed. Three new songs from the forthcoming Twilight Singers record are played, much to the joy of all those present.

Throughout the evening, Dulli plays the charming host. The interplay and banter between Dulli and the audience are a refreshing change from the cocksure, arrogant and swaggering Greg Dulli that once fronted The Afghan Whigs. It’s also a welcome change from the edginess of a Gutter Twins show. An Evening with Greg Dulli? If only it were a weekly event…

Setlist for An Evening with Greg Dulli – Whelan’s Dublin, October 27th, 2010

  1. St. Gregory
  2. Uptown Again
  3. King Only
  4. Blackbird and the Fox
  5. The Lure Would Prove Too Much
  6. Bonnie Brae
  7. 66
  8. Let Me Lie To You
  9. Pair of Brown Eyes (snippet)
  10. Gunshots
  11. Forty Dollars
  12. Step Into the Light
  13. If I Were Going
  14. Summer’s Kiss
  15. The Killer
  16. Follow You Down
  17. The Stations
  18. Never Seen No Devil

Encore:

  1. Candy Cane Crawl
  2. Down the Line
    (José González cover)
  3. Teenage Wristband
  4. The Twilite Kid

Originally published by State.ie

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Without any effort, Crawdaddy, for one night only, is transformed into a dive bar in Nashville. Former Wallflowers frontman, Jakob Dylan, shuffles onstage with band members that wouldn’t look out of place on father Bob’s Rolling Thunder Revue tour of ’75. The audience comprises of three strands: a) Bob Dylan fanatics, a.k.a Dylanologists, who are there for obvious reasons, b) those that were among the many millions who bought a copy of The Wallflowers’ Bringing Down the Horse, and finally, c) Alt. Country devotees, charmed by his current foray into country music. His 2008 debut solo album, Seeing Things produced by Rick Rubin, hinted at a talent that was maturing and convincingly tapping into the sound and tradition of American roots music, which came to fruition with this year’s T-Bone Burnett produced Women and Country. On both albums, Dylan achieved a tempo and a sound that works as one piece and this, ultimately, is what goes against him in a live setting.

He immediately launches into ‘Nothin’ But the Whole Wide World’ followed by ‘Everybody’s Hurting’, both of which are contemplative mid-tempo country songs, the latter using his backup singers to full effect. Unfortunately, Dylan and his band never really stray far from this form, and the result is a set that is one-dimensional, lacking in surprise and anything but dynamic. Even performances of Wallflowers songs, ‘God Says Nothing Back’, ‘Three Malenas’ and ‘6th Avenue Heartache’, aren’t enough to add momentum. What forces him into an even darker hole is that he either isn’t playing his guitar, or his guitar is so low in the mix that no-one can hear it.

Add to this his refusal to take any risks and deviate from a formulated set list, and one finds a performer and a band that gets too comfortable. One immediately thinks of what Dylan could have done to turn the format of the evening upside down and inject a sense of the unpredictable. He could have, for example, thrown in an interesting cover version or banished his band from the stage and performed a short set of songs, solo, without amplification, to this small, devoted and intimate audience. Dylan has no doubt learned how to craft a set of songs for an album but he has yet to find a way to perform his songs in a way that truly engages.

Originally published by State.ie

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“Play the hits!” shouts an uninitiated punter. Tortoise, of course, doesn’t do hits. Almost 15 years on from their defining masterpiece, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, Tortoise’s post- rock credentials are still intact. Initially, the crowd appears to be a convention for all the children of Sonic Youth’s band members. In time, however, they become audience members at a jazz concert: if they aren’t chin-scratching, they’re nodding to drum solos and swinging wildly to melody-laden pieces of meticulously crafted music.

On a small stage crammed full of xylophones, guitars, and synthesizers, two drum kits are pitted against each other. It is clear from the outset that while Tortoise operates as a democratic unit, all band members take their cues from Jeff Parker. The remaining band members look to Parker, the only member of the band with a set list, to initiate the night’s proceedings. He hits a key on his Moog synthesizer and, gradually, all of the remaining band members find their way into -High-Class Slim Came Floating In’, the opening track from their latest full- length LP, Beacons of Ancestorship.

What becomes more and more apparent as the show progresses is that, as a jazz or classical concert, one can easily follow the direction that the band decides to take on that particular night. By the time the band shifts into -Charteroak Foundation’, the final song of the evening, it’s clear that Tortoise, like Mogwai, effortlessly bleed all of their songs into one, continuously flowing mood-piece. What’s so generous and giving this approach to a live show is that it provides both first-time and long-time listeners alike a single point of entry into what the band is all about, which the stop-start approach of most rock concerts doesn’t allow. All the more impressive is Tortoise’s refusal to reduce their show to art-rock gimmicks and pretentions: at no point do the band members play into the crowd by donning ‘quirky’ outfits or throwing a bass drum in the air only to catch it without missing a beat. Tortoise is simply too focused on leading their audience into the next vibe, and we’re all the better for it.

“Play the hits!”, shouts an uninitiated punter. Tortoise, of course, doesn’t do hits. Almost 15 years on from their defining masterpiece, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, Tortoise’s post- rock credentials are still intact. Initially, the crowd appears to be a convention for all the children of Sonic Youth’s band members. In time, however, they become audience members at a jazz concert: if they aren’t chin-scratching, they’re nodding to drum solos and swinging wildly to melody-laden pieces of meticulously crafted music.

On a small stage crammed full of xylophones, guitars, and synthesizers, two drum kits are pitted against each other. It is clear from the outset that while Tortoise operates as a democratic unit, all band members take their cues from Jeff Parker. The remaining band members look to Parker, the only member of the band with a set list, to initiate the night’s proceedings. He hits a key on his Moog synthesizer and, gradually, all of the remaining band members find their way into -High-Class Slim Came Floating In’, the opening track from their latest full- length LP, Beacons of Ancestorship.

What becomes more and more apparent as the show progresses is that, as a jazz or classical concert, one can easily follow the direction that the band decides to take on that particular night. By the time the band shifts into -Charteroak Foundation’, the final song of the evening, it’s clear that Tortoise, like Mogwai, effortlessly bleed all of their songs into one, continuously flowing mood-piece. What’s so generous and giving this approach to a live show is that it provides both first-time and long-time listeners alike a single point of entry into what the band is all about, which the stop-start approach of most rock concerts doesn’t allow. All the more impressive is Tortoise’s refusal to reduce their show to art-rock gimmicks and pretentions: at no point do the band members play into the crowd by donning ‘quirky’ outfits or throwing a bass drum in the air only to catch it without missing a beat. Tortoise is simply too focused on leading their audience into the next vibe, and we’re all the better for it.

Originally published by State.ie