Matthew And The Atlas - Louisiana, Sunday 27th January

Former landscape gardener Matthew Hegarty has assembled a tight folk/rock ensemble of real quality and with a hotly-anticipated April debut album on the way the future is looking very rosy for the recent Mumford and Sons support band. 

A well-known figure on the folk scene as a solo artist, Hegarty was the first signing to Communion Music, now home to Ben Howard, Treetop Flyers and er, Gotye.  Now with a band that give the bespectacled frontman’s best tunes an atmospheric cinematic power and brooding brilliance, the group appears destined for a shot at the big time themselves.  It’s fair to say that the nation may be a little Mumforded-out right now but fear not, Heggarty and Co are bringing a brand of folk which uplifts and surprises substituting a hint of rhythmic dubstep for those well-worn faux-irish hoe-downs.  Mysteriously absent tonight are the sumptuous vocal harmonies from long time collaborator Lindsay West, but in truth her absence reveals an edgier less trad-folk sound that may prove more of a mainstream attraction. 

Two things hit home from the start of this gig; firstly there’s no bassist –those sustained basslines are in fact coming from the keyboardist.  Secondly, Hegarty’s voice commands the complete attention of his audience; his fractious warble holds the room with a timeless quality only really equalled by fellow retro crooner Richard Hawley.  New single ‘Pale Sun Rose’ opens with a melodic maritime banjo met by a tropical guitar hook and a ground-rumbling, plummeting soprano.  It’s one of a fair few that enchant the sell out crowd with its thick synthy layers that oddly benefit from those chirpy slappy electro drums.  There’s a reasonably awkward silence between tracks with little crowd interaction, many of their tunes seem to rather uncomfortably and abruptly just, well; end.  Regardless, next track ‘Everything That Dies’ is a classy anthem including a hovering bassline and a transfixed Hegarty borrowing from Springsteen’s ‘Atlantic City’ as he booms out the bittersweet mantra “You said everyone you know, one day will surely die/But everything that dies in some way returns.”  Throw in some shuffling drums and choral harmonies and it all sounds strangely uplifting without the band at any point breaking the shackles. 

The performance drifts a little shortly afterwards and the intensity does drop giving way to earnest folk that veers into the middle of the road.  ‘Out Of The Darkness” brings it back to the boil and it’s another slow-burner which showcases the frontman’s vocal gymnastics amid a cold piano.  Snappy drums, rattly bass and a wall of distortion underpin the impressive penultimate track which couldn’t be further away from the folky Americana of the first two EP’s.  Hegarty humbly thanks the crowd before announcing “we have to go now because we haven’t got any more songs.”  How the long-awaited debut will fare you feel will much depend on whether they continue their fantastic experiment; with a bigger venue tour already booked in, the beaming audience tonight certainly hope so.

Best Tracks: Click on link below

Matthew And The Atlas - 'Pale Sun Rose'

Matthew And The Atlas - 'Everything That Dies'

Kindly published by Bristol 24-7
http://www.bristol247.com/2014/01/30/review-matthew-atlas-louisiana-bristol-43944/

Evil Twin - The Lantern, Friday 17th January

Lo-fi Bristolian indie hopefuls Evil Twin have a reputation for being one of the hottest properties on the unsigned local circuit and after a rip-snorting forty-five minute rock assault it’s clear to see why.

Together for under a couple of years, the band have already taken their self-confessed ‘no bollocks music’ to the Dot-to-Dot and Green Man festivals as well as a string of support gigs around the region.  Opting to hone their sound in front of a live audience and shunning the expensive lure of the studio has paid off for the recent graduates whose diverse range of influences shows that they’ve done their rock’n’roll homework. 

They’ve got some promising support of their own in the shape of intense melodic Alt-J’ish trio Tiers and a superb set from an energetic young band formally known as ‘Why Kill Ian?’ -Bridgwater’s pop-punk quartet ‘Bridges’.  Bereft of shoes, this early Kings of Leon influenced group definitely make themselves at home on the stage in front of an enthusiastic crowd.  Bearded frontman Ethan Proctor’s vocals are reminiscent of Brandon Boyd (Incubus) on best track ‘Storming The Palace’ which bombs along with joyous ferocity.  Crunching guitars from ‘Dirty Harry’ villain Josh Redman-Thomas and some classy shimmering drums get the audience shuffling and with top new single ‘Amor’ imminent, they’re definitely one to watch. 

BBC Introducing favourites Evil Twin are deserved headliners tonight and baseball capped singer songwriter Andrew Barnes leads the band out to a hearty ovation.  The skinny front-man struts confidently about the stage dropping dirty guitar riffs and stretching vocals that fall just short of Jeff Buckley.  Not a bad introduction at all.  Early track ‘Situation’ opens with an Arctic Monkeys fuzzy chainsaw guitar riff and punchy Automatic bass with a welcome twist of a brizzle accent.  With a lo-fi feel and harmonies borrowed from Pavement it’s a trip back to the late 90’s for some but with far more bite and way less indulgence.  It’s not all about youthful punchy rock as the second half of building Led Zep rock-out ‘Sinister Woman’ testifies.  A real cut of quality; this one showcases Barnes’ gut-wrenching range and a real writing maturity beyond his years.

There’s not much banter between songs but in truth the crowd are here more out of curiosity and hope than familiarity, they do however appear to be won over by the time we get to debut single ‘Dusk Til Dawn’.  Another monstrous Queens Of The Stone Age riff is unleashed with delicious pomp amid Barnes howling “I didn’t start this, throwing punches in the dark.”  Louis Jones' screeching guitar bosses the track from start to finish, bass-man Anton Larkin proving the perfect foil for what is the band’s strongest tune to date.  It’s a thoroughly enjoyable ride; tight, polished and pounding indie perfection, check them out for yourself it’s unlikely you’ll be disappointed.

Kindly published by Bristol24-7:
http://www.bristol247.com/2014/01/21/review-evil-twin-lantern-colston-hall-bristol-11467/ 


Click on links below

Evil Twin - 'Sinister Woman'
Evil Twin - 'Dusk Til Dawn'