Vessels, Her Name Is Calla, Bromtide, 7 Hertz @ Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
September 24, 2008
Though the album has been out for a couple of week’s now, this launch party has a second cause for celebration: surviving Bestival. I suppose you could call this a homecoming but… that term’s rather overused, dontcha think? Whatever. The audience is friendly, the bands climactic and the beer cheap – all is looking very good.
7 Hertz, for all those not in the know are/is a) collaborators with David Thomas Broughton, b) the frequency of the brown note and c) an experimental classical/jazz quartet. Comprising of upright bass, two violins (one could be a viola) and various wind instruments, their look is Pimms on the lawn but the sound is anarchic, disturbing, fluctuating from funereal be-bop to Purim jigs and whirls, form Charlie Parker to Bartok. Not an easy listen and tricky to get an angle on in the circumstances, but an interesting gateway to contemporary jazz and ‘classical’ music.
Brontide are a small package providing a small but perfectly formed packet of joy. Led by ex-I Was A Cub Scout William Bowerman from the rear… actually, forget IWACS, that will only distract you. William is the perfect rock drummer, playing the part and laying down some serious beats. Timothy Hancock and Nathan Fairweather are no slouches either, wowing with their twin tapping technique and providing the best of riffage throughout. Mathy, rocky and focussed, this is how you make catchy songs without words – like Battles meets Iron Maiden, but without cheesy lyrics.
Her Name Is Calla at The Brudenell can be… not so good, and with Tom’s under-amped vocals, I am worried that we are going to get the first lacklustre performance of the evening. Fortunately what Tom lacks in vocals at first is made up for in sheer fury by the rest of the band. As the sound warms, Tom’s voice shines through, a ray of darkness, as he bends almost double in pain and frustration. Sophie now adds vocals as well as trumpet to the mix, giving the set an emotional high register to Tom’s middle and Thom’s uncertain low. Before ‘New England’ closes an exhausting set, Tom expresses his gratitude to Vessels for being allowed to play. “ We thought they didn’t like us,” he says incredulously. No, but it’s hard to show enjoyment when your heart is being broken by such accomplished musical anguish.
When Vessels set starts, it is more by intimation than announcement. Slowly, the melody lines emerge, suffuse, bind and explode. Or, put another way, it’s an underplayed opening. No matter, ‘100 Miles…’ really sets things off, with Tim and Lee mirroring each other on the drums and Tom and Pete similarly mirroring each other on vocals – it is a masterful display of musical symmetry. Of course, that’s only half the fun of watching Vessels – the other is watching things fall apart spectacularly but somehow hang together. Watching Martin Teff immerse himself passionately in guitar while all band hell breaks out behind him is hilarious. The result of such chaos is worthwhile as the sound obtained by careful tweaking strikes your sternum and stops your heart… just enough to allow ‘Yuki’ to creep inside and warm it. ‘Happy Accident’ eases a smile across my face, which stretches to breaking point as Pete Wright name checks my moustache. Bless. Breaking tradition, ‘Two Words’ comes early, leaving the coveted closing spot for ‘Altered Beast,’ which roars with triumphant complexity. True, there are some slow spots and the overdubs to get a bit… overdubby at time, but you could not ask for a better evening of cerebral melodic entertainment. And I didn’t mention the genre once.