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REVIEWS

SoundsXP Presents

Friday 6th April 2012
All Day BBQ Festival

Sparrow and the Workshop
6 Day Riot
The Nuns
Singing Adams
Y Niwl
Colours
Dignan Porch
+more tbc

The Windmill
Brixton
Price tbc

On Our iPod

Golden Grrrls - New Pop 7”

Chris Devotion & The Expectations - Amalgamation & Capital (album)

Trailer Trash Tracys - Ester (album)

Throwing Up - Mother Knows Best 7”

Howling Wolf - Complete Chess Masters 1951-60

The Ketamines - A Rotten Bond/1 Yr (from Oddbox Singles Club Pt 2)

Cardinal - Hymns (album)

Proper Ornaments - Taking the Gamble Out of Buying 12”

Darren Hayman - January Songs (album)

Various: Marshall Teller EP 12”

Latest Forum Posts

Gig Review

Joanna Newsom / Alasdair Roberts
London, Barbican

Article written by Ged M - Jan 28, 2007

Joanna Newsom might have a marmite voice but a lot of people clearly adore it, judging by the queue for returns for this sell-out show, waiting in the forlorn hope that someone won�t need a ticket. The crowd represents a mix of people, both in age (one five year old is transfixed by the �princess� on stage) and in tastes: it�s not your regular gig audience that has seen Joanna in places like the 12 Bar Club, the ICA and All Tomorrow�s Parties. Part of the reason is the London Symphony Orchestra, accompanying Joanna for the first half of the show in which she plays the five songs from �Ys� in the order that they appear on record. The LSO connection works perfectly; the songs � apart from a devastating �Sawdust & Diamonds�, which she performs alone � open up even further under the exploration of professional musicians and lose the slightly florid �Disney� blush that Van Dyke Parks� arrangements gave some of them. There�s even a brief cameo from boyfriend Bill Callaghan, reprising his vocals on �Only Skin�. Seeing her live makes sense of the aspects of Joanna: the new age princess persona, the poetry of the lyrics and the complex orchestration that has Joanna and her harp at the centre of it all. She leaves the stage to rapturous applause and then returns with her two bandmates to play a further set, starting with �The Book of Right-On� and ending with �Sadie�, taking in songs from �The Milk-Eyed Mender� plus a Scottish folk song and a new Balkan-flavoured tune complete with whoops that demonstrate that her voice is a far more controlled and powerful instrument than it was before. It�s an outstanding spectacle, fusing musical genres into one uncategorisable lump and, judging by the guestlist here (including David Gray who, hopefully, decided to give up music after watching this), she�s crossing the line from musician to phenomenon.

Alasdair Roberts is again supporting Joanna on this tour at her request. Out of this movement of born again folkies, it�s nice to have something authentic and Alasdair Roberts � born in Callander, son of a traditional musician � certainly isn�t just following fashion. All his songs have a languid, timeless quality so that even when he�s not singing old Scottish folk tales, his beautifully constructed songs sound like he could be. They quiver with simple life and he sings with a beautiful lilt and understated power, making his new album �The Amber Gatherers� one to seek out.

Links:
http://www.dragcity.com/bands/newsom.html