LIVE: The Joy Formidable – Islington Assembly Hall, London 24.11.19

“Maybe we should’ve started a Bee Gees tribute band? They’re big in Mold,” jokes The Joy Formidable‘s lead vocalist & guitarist Ritzy Bryan. She’s talking about her hometown in Wales, and how her affinity with the Flintshire county is stronger than ever, 10 years after releasing the band’s debut EP A Balloon Called Moaning. “Matt’s got the shirt for it,” bassist Rhydian Dafydd chimes in. Drummer Matt Thomas feigns offense before laughing off the comment.

Fans who have been following the band for the last decade will be used to these charming chats between songs. The trio are on form once again at The Islington Assembly Hall, as they’re in town to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their first EP. Before the jokes start rolling out, the trio have already ripped through three of A Balloon Called Moaning‘s tracks biggest tracks: ‘The Greatest Light’, ‘Cradle’, and ‘Austere’. The room is full of fans and friends – including previous drummer Justin, who gets multiple shout outs – and the feeling is one of excitement and mutual gratitude for the dynamic sound of a band who have weathered this uncertain industry for the last decade.

“This is the farewell tour” teases Rhydian, before quickly adding “Jokes! There’s new music in 2020”. “Who knows what song’s coming next?” Ritzy interjects, as she plucks the opening notes to ‘While The Flies’. The band play the tracks in the order they’re listed on the EP, giving their fans the full A Balloon Called Moaning experience. The enduring power of ‘Whirring’ comes next with its thudding drum beats, as well as the extended outro that didn’t make the cut on the original EP. It’s followed by stripped back lament ‘9669’. Ritzy and Rhydian’s call-and-response vocals are delivered with grace and gravitas, as the lyrics give insight into an intimate conversation. It’s offset perfectly by penultimate track ‘The Last Drop’ with its manic stop-start rhythms and bold percussion.

Final EP track ‘Ostrich’ is still a dizzying wall of sound when heard live. It’s a mixture of buzzing riffs, longing vocals, and relentless percussion that forms an all-consuming, disorientating aural blur. The crowd are unsure of what comes next – as the EP tracklist has now been completed – but the band burst into ‘Y Bluen Eira’, followed by the powerful ‘I Don’t Want To See You Like This’ lifted from their 2011 album The Big Roar. These non-EP tracks are greeted with the same amount of enthusiasm.

‘Passerby’, a b-side track from 2016 album Hitch, prefaces a stripped back version of ‘The Leopard & The Lung’. Taken from their 2013 album Wolf’s Law, Ritzy introduces the track with a message about caring for and protecting our environment. Rhydian’s gentle keys and the pair’s dual vocals make this song a real set highlight. Next, they ask the crowd if there’s a track they’d like to hear, and after lots of inaudible shouts, the band settle for ‘Caught On A Breeze’, before leaving the stage.

They return for an encore of ‘Anemone’ – influenced by the tragedies of John Webster – and the formidable ‘The Everchanging Spectrum Of A Lie’. It’s an apt song to close with, as the trio have evolved and grown over the last decade into gracious, and talented performers. There’s nothing to lament about their celebratory performance of A Balloon Called Moaning, and that is a fitting legacy for a formidable record, produced by an equally formidable band.

Order your 10 Year Anniversary reissue of A Balloon Called Moaning/Y Falŵ​n Drom on vinyl here.

Photo Credit: Steve Reynolds

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Get In Her Ears w/ Girls Rock London 28.11.19

Kate & guest co-host Beth were back in the studio this week, playing loads of new tunes from the likes of ESYA, Peach Club, Hinako Omori, Lazybones, God Colony, MeMe Detroit & Sink Ya Teeth.

Alex & Jodi from Girls Rock London joined them in the studio to talk about all the amazing work they do with the organisation which you can find out more about at www.girlsrocklondon.com

Listen back:

Tracklist
Bjork – Human Behaviour
ESYA – Blue Orchid
TELGATE – Cherry Tight
Peach Club – Not Ur Girl
SASSY 009 – Are You Still A Lover
Imogen Heap – Headlock
Hinako Omori – Bank Of Inner Criticisms
Freya Beer – Dear Sweet Rosie
MeMe Detroit – Can’t Get You Out Of My Mind
The Menstrual Cramps – Neo Nazi
I SEE RIVERS – We Don’t Get More Time
Neev – Across The Glass
Ghum – 1000 Men
Nova Twins – Vortex
Tiberius B. – No Smoke
Personal Best – Baby
God Colony feat. Samirah Raheem – Girls
ARXX – Iron Lung
Sink Ya Teeth – The Hot House
Suggested Friends – The Apocalypse (Is Just A Day Away)
Glacier Veins – Grows Back Slow
Lazybones – Crazy
Jelly Cleaver ft. Isatta Sheriff – They Don’t Know
Mari Dangerfield – Enough
Ziemba – Ugly Ambitious Women
Bikini Kill – Rebel Girl

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LIVE: Gazelle Twin & NYX present ‘Deep England’ – Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre 20.11.19

An engrossing, ghastly, but intensely beautiful carousel of sound, Gazelle Twin‘s Deep England collaboration with the NYX Drone Choir is unlike anything you have seen or heard before. Inspired by the tracks that formed Gazelle Twin aka Elizabeth Bernholz’s 2018 album Pastoral, the joint performance at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall continued the artist’s harrowing up of England’s “rotten past” and exploration of its uncertain future.

Through the power of combined operatic voices, St. George-meets-The-Handmaid’s-Tale costumes and creative staging, Bernholz and her team have created a claustrophobic, charged gallop of aural anarchy with this latest endeavour. Informed by British paganism and ritualistic activity, Deep England feels almost supernatural at points, especially during ‘Fire Leap’, which is lifted from the cult 1973 film The Wicker Man. Multiple recorders and kazoos are played – instruments of nostalgic folly turned into present, frightening farce – as the choir slowly moved around the stage, chanting the lyrical motif “Take the flame inside you / Burn and burn below”, like a warped spell.

‘Better In My Day’ abruptly broke this spell, with its nervous, skittish percussion. It stands out in terms of volume and energy, with Bernholz and her chorus performing frenzied, stunted movements whilst snarling their way through the lyrics. A spotlight on a tree at the back of the stage (which has been present throughout the performance) commands Bernholz to sit under it, as the intro synth sequence to ‘Sunny Stories’ begins to play.

Bernholz delivered her dark fable under the fake foliage, gently lulling the choir into following track ‘Golden Dawn’. ‘Throne’ brought Bernholz back to centre stage and down to her knees, singing of “insolvency” and racking up debts. Eponymous track ‘Deep England’ closed the performance in the same un-nerving way it began; dimly lit, with the choir and Bernholz’s voices seething in unison.

Whilst Bernholz’s unique vision was brought vividly to life on her original record Pastoral, with the aid of the NYX drone choir her vitriol is able to take its fullest, most nerve-shredding form. Deep England is a phenomenal artistic accomplishment and a jarring reminder that our dark past is never too far behind us.

Deep England Credits:
Gazelle Twin: Elizabeth Bernholz
NYX vocalists: Adelaide Pratoussy, Cecilia Forssberg, Natalie Sharp, Ruth Corey, Shireen Querishi, Sian O’Gorman
Compositions and Music Direction: Elizabeth Bernholz and Sian O’Gorman
Movement Director: Imogen Knight
Sound Associate: Peter Rice
Production and Costume Design: Chloe Lamford
Stylist: Anna Josephs

Deep England was performed as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival 2019.

Photo Credit: Jamie Cameron

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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LIVE: Björk’s Cornucopia Tour – The O2 Arena, London 19.11.19

An opulent, self aware, stunning two hour performance: Icelandic icon Björk was able to “weave a matriarchal dome” over the heads of her transfixed crowd during her Cornucopia live show at London’s O2 Arena. The music pioneer brought her Utopian vision to life through pitch perfect vocals, beautifully orchestrated collaborative sounds, and breath-taking visuals.

Before the show began, a polite audio recording requested that fans refrain from filming or photographing the show, as this would be distracting to Björk. Surprisingly, the majority of fans respected her wishes, and immersed themselves in listening to the aural grandeur of the Icelandic choir who opened the Cornucopia show against a curtain backdrop laced with tropical flowers.

When Björk’s altruistic vocals broke through the airwaves and the stage curtain parted; it felt like straying into a Midsummer Night’s Dream. Dressed in a unique ensemble and accompanied by performers who were both decorated like, and sounded like birds of paradise; Björk delivered a passionate rendition of ‘The Gate’. A flute ensemble led her in to ‘Utopia’, followed by the divine sounds of ‘Arisen My Senses’ with live harp accompaniment and more stunning visuals.

With a clear focus on her two most recent studio albums – 2017’s Utopia, and 2019’s Virtual Reality record Vulnicura – Björk’s set list, shape-shifting animations and optics truly transcended the fourth wall between fans and performer. The set’s sensuality was heightened by so many elements – the incredible stage design, the affluent costumes – as well as Björk’s willingness to experiment with new forms of sound during live shows. At one point in the set, she sings next to a percussionist who is pouring water over pebbles, with the crowd so entranced that it almost feels like every water drop is audible.

With only a handful of older songs making the cut for this performance (most notably ‘Venus As A Boy’ and a partial rendition of ‘Pagan Poetry’), whether this was your first time seeing Björk, or your fiftieth time; Cornucopia is an audio & visual force unlike any other. Björk’s artistic vision is uncompromising in so many ways, which is made especially clear towards the latter part of the show.

Her elaborate spectacle is underscored by a sincere desire to highlight the current climate crisis we are all witnessing. A series of words were projected on to the veil-like stage curtain, urging all to imagine a brighter future under that “matriarchal dome”, with the final statement – “Imagine a future. Be in it” – prompting applause from the crowd. There was a video message from climate crisis activist Greta Thunberg during the finale too, further encouraging fans to practice what Thunberg passionately, and necessarily preaches.

A performance that – despite this review – transcends the barriers of language; Björk’s Cornucopia show deserves to be seen in all its live glory. Its potent message about protecting the earth, and each other, still rings true long after the spotlight fades out. Björk’s vision serves as a reminder to all that altruism and ingenuity mean nothing if there’s not a planet for us all to share, and experience them on.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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