Blood-curdling bassoon, bouncing double bass, scintillating strings and vocal harmonies to die for; welcome to the
fairytale alt-folk universe inhabited by Glastonbury
formed sextet The Moulettes.
In a galaxy far far away from
the mainstream watery folk bandwagon that the dark lord Barlow has recently hitched
a ride upon there is a band creating ethereal, exhilarating and carefully
mastered folk/rock opuses via a vast assembly of instruments that sonically
stretch the boundaries between folk, rock and (curiously) prog. Headed up by the beautiful English rose
vocals, cello and guitar of Hannah Miller, the band bring their quirky and
inventive sounds to a fervent Thekla crowd of students, Radio 2 folk purists
and curious newbies. The ‘Farewell To The
Bear’ tour comes after a heavy gigging schedule in support of last year’s second
album ‘The Bears Revenge’ which delighted with its Balkan gypsy rhythms (from
Miller’s time tutoring music in Bosnia)
and addictive yet unusual tempo changes.
The hurtling staccato punk of
opener ‘Horses For Hearses’ is followed by the upbeat serenity of ‘Sing Unto
Me’ which has a Fairport Convention feel but with a sophisticated texture, fire-cracking
drums and some stunning three part harmonies.
There’s some confident banter between songs as Miller and Ruth Skipper
(Bassoon, Vocals and Autoharp) playfully tease each other, both adorned in
spectacular milk maid / Bavarian Dirndl costumes. Skipper’s bassoon is a potent weapon
throughout the set and particularly on ‘Unlock The Doors’ as funky orchestral
folk is interrupted by images of twilight adventures in the forest with hobbits
being chased by trolls across the shire.
It’s an instrument that many of tonight’s crowd may not have considered as
a substitute for a big guitar solo but it works a treat bringing regular grins
and whoops. Furthermore, Jim Mortimore’s double bass is so striking that it negates the need for overly intrusive percussion;
that said, there’s some very handy breaks from drummer Ollie Austin and
together they provide the perfect foil for the group’s daring
experimentations.
Mid-way through the set and the celestial
‘Songbird’ has a timeless charm that sees the Miller/Skipper vocal dream team
alongside Anisa Arslanagic on sumptuous violin for a track that warms like
mulled cider. ‘Devil Of Mine’ is
tonight’s highlight and sounds like Kate Bush in a rock band with a hip-hop
style vocal, not least on rock’s most unlikely winning lyric; “He moved towards
us his cravat was exquisite.” Throw in
some violent cello and it’s a pretty good summation of the eccentricity and
off-beat magic of the band, it certainly has the audience gripped. Penultimate murder-ballad ‘Bloodshed In The
Woodshed’ is an enthralling ride with lyrics that Morrissey would be proud of
and shows that it’s worth remembering that above all the bewitching, complex
musicianship; these guys can rock. At times
breathtaking, at times potty, from the outbreaks of Irish jigs to 1920’s swing
jazz, it’s never a dull moment and certainly anything but pretentious. Forthcoming album with working title
‘Constellations’ has contributions from prog legend and ‘God of Hellfire’
Arthur Brown amongst others. And after
tonight’s superb performance its hard to not look forward with anticipation to what
on earth that will sound like.
Kindly published by Bristol24-7: http://www.bristol247.com/2013/12/10/review-moulettes-thekla-bristol-81428/
Best track: Click on link below
Moulettes - 'Unlock The Doors'
Setlist TBC
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