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Gig Review

The Crayon Fields/ Le Man Avec les Lunettes/ Super Wolfgang/ Mascot Fields
London, Buffalo Bar

Article written by Ged M - May 5, 2009

Geoff O'Connor, Crayon Fields

Although The Crayon Fields are no Aussie Rules footballers, I don’t think they deserve the ‘twee’ tag they’ve been given. Their lush, gentle dreampop is classic and catchy, with a slightly ragged version of ‘Everybody’s Talking’ in the encore and the soaring ‘Voice of Paradise’ standing out. That song is a bedroom pop gem, although Geoff O’Connor’s dry between-songs humour suggests that they’re more than an anorak band. If you’re looking for comparisons, The Go-Betweens, Magnetic Fields and the Zombies all spring to mind, along with the tremulous sound of the Clientele. So good, I risked sleeping on a station platform to hear their full set, and was pleased that I chanced it ‘cause it would have been a sin to miss.

The five-piece Le Man Avec les Lunettes, from Brescia, Italy are clearly enjoying their first UK gig but their imported equipment seems to like London less than they do, given the sound problems. The shrieking cello adds a touch of Arcade Fire and REM gravitas to their songs but often they sound a little unremarkable, another generic indiepop band.

Andy Ward, The Super Wolfgang

Homescience found love - DC Love to be precise - and became The Super Wolfgang. Listen to their tunes on Myspace and they still have that psych-pop sound they had in the previous band but there’s a crunchier edge now; Danielle still lurks at the back as she did playing bass with the Loves but her guitar riffs now are in your face. I remember once debating with Andy Ward after a Homescience gig the merits of ELO and that 70s pop-rock sound is now much more evident, as is the fashion – Andy’s wearing more eyeliner than Marc Bolan. They look good, sound good and I’m keen to see them again – not least for the closing song ‘Jump My Bones’ which is the bastard cousin of ‘She’s About A Mover’ by the Sir Douglas Quartet and all the better for it.

Derby’s Mascot Fight open the evening with indiepop and well-developed humour, with songs titled things like ‘That’s A Photocopier, Not A Chair’ and ‘Play The Meathead Anthem’. It feels like you’re watching a very fast tennis match as they belt out Pavement-inspired rowdypop songs one second and return a Belle & Sebastian introspective ballad the next. I liked it at first but rapidly developed neckache.

Links:
http://www.myspace.com/thecrayonfields
http://www.myspace.com/thesuperwolfgang

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