May–A Round-up Part 2

Thursday 31st May: The second and final part of my round-up of May’s gigs, featuring slimmed-down reviews. For an explanation of the sudden (and hopefully, on my part anyway, temporary) change in format, see the last post.

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Saturday the 19th. My lift to tonight’s gig had had to change his plans, so it was either drive myself – which wasn’t really an option given that the gig was in a real ale pub – or cycle. Thankfully the weather held and, after a small amount of cajoling from one of the band, I made an almost last-minute decision to attend. It might have been the rush to get out that caused me to turn up at the wrong pub. It was only after I’d ordered a pint in the Fulford Arms, and noticed the poster advertising a different band to what I was expecting, that I realised that I should be at the Waggon And Horses and that I didn’t actually know where it was. Thankfully, the barmaid was able to give me directions (I’d practically cycled past it already…)

Dream Of Apollo were playing the Waggon’s regular Saturday night acoustic slot. It was a slightly smaller line-up than normal, with drummer Jamie missing and Rhys, newly returned from his Antipodean nuptials, playing the first acoustic bass that I remember seeing. It was, possibly, a bad night to attempt to play music in a pub, with a number of people watching the Champions League final in the main bar. (I had, I’m a little ashamed to say, already given the match more attention than I had given to David Breslin, who provided support tonight.) The band played in a smaller “room” to one side of the pub and, I’m told, that it would have been easier to hear them properly if I had been in the room itself, rather than standing in the doorway. Most of the songs, however, are familiar enough to me now that I don’t have to hear them fully, so I was able to keep half an eye on the football, which eventually finished during the band’s break, much to the delight of a portion of the attendees. Peppered among the familiar were a couple of new songs – All For You and Your Loving Arms – as well as a couple of songs I hadn’t heard for a while, including the wonderful blackly comedic Dead Pets. The band battled gamely against the football while it was still on - bringing to mind a previous evening when they played a pub gig while Andy Murray played tennis on the TV – before eventually being allowed to shine during the second half of their set.

The Waggon itself looks to be nice venue for acoustic music. Those that were there for the music were friendly, even if some of them appeared to be there more the atmosphere, spending more time talking about who else they had seen perform that week than actually listening. Again, I’m told I could have avoided that by going into the room itself. Unfortunately it is, perhaps, just a little too far off the beaten track to consider it as a regular venue.

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Thursday the 24th was the first evening this year when two gigs I fancied clashed. I decided to forego Girls With Guitars (the description sounds better than the name) at Fibbers and, instead, see another long-established prog group at the Duchess.

This being a band who started out in the seventies, it seemed almost inevitable that Stolen Earth would be supporting. With hands presumably still aching from signing two hundred copies of their debut CD, A Far Cry From Home, the night before the band took to what must have been an incredibly hot and sticky stage (the May heatwave was making the Duchess feel something akin to Hell) and, once again, seemed to hold the audience entranced. It might simply be that fans of the bands they are supporting “get” what Stolen Earth are doing musically but this band seem to get a much better reception from the off than most other supports. Tonight’s set had, again, been tweaked slightly from the previous time we saw them. Highlights included Soul In A Jar, with Adam teasing notes out of both acoustic and electric guitars, and Silver Skies, the sound for which was much better than at Fibbers a few days ago. From the third song onwards, just after she asked for more vocals in her monitor, Heidi’s vocals hit top form, with the lyrics coming across much more clearly. Maybe it’s just that I’m getting more familiar with the songs. As usual the set ended with the brilliant Perfect Wave, which got a near-rapturous response from the crowd, almost certainly due in no small part to the very Pink Floyd-like instrumental section.

I’m fairly certain that, many years ago, I had an album by Dutch proggers Focus on tape. If I remember rightly, a friend of mine had bought it, didn’t like it and gave it to me. It must be about thirty years ago, but that album was probably Moving Waves, containing the (in)famous yodelling track Hocus Pocus, and was probably my first dalliance with prog rock. From tonight’s crowd it seems that not only are Focus still a big draw but that their fans cover a wide spectrum – from the usual middle-aged beer-bellied men right through to more attractive, younger women who looked barely old enough to be drinking.

Taking to the stage to a kind of science-fictional choral opening, the band played an energetic, mostly instrumental set, although some compositions also featured founding member Thijs van Leer, now in his mid-sixties and apparently as mad as a box of frogs, on vocals, even if said vocals, for the most part, weren’t words. Yes, there was yodelling. For most of the set, van Leer sat behind a battered old Hammond organ, with “Focus” spelled out on it in black tape. Alternating between two microphones, depending on what effect he required, he played the organ and flute (occasionally at the same time) while frantically and wild-eyed conducting both the band and the audience. The rest of the band were all allowed their moments to shine – Menno Gootjes on guitar was incredible throughout, moving from studious calm to a finger-flying solo with ease, Bobby Jacobs performing the very best bass solo I have ever heard and, being a fan of good drumming, I was more than pleased that Pierre van der Linden performed two solos, a shorter one at the end of one song and a proper one towards the end of the set. Putting the set together from throughout the band’s history, including the forthcoming Focus 10, we were treated to an hour and a half of superb, if slightly quirky, music which, despite having its roots in the seventies, still sounds incredible today. As the band left the stage, the audience shouted for more but Van Leer himself returned to the stage to apologise that there was no time for an encore due to the venue having to get ready for a “pop-show” (he meant the following club night). Disappointment all round.

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And that’s it. May 2012, overall the busiest month I have had for local gigs (so far…) And there could have been more – apart from missing Girls With Guitars, I chose not to see Blackbeard’s Tea Party (supported by the incredible What The Cat Dragged In) and Only The Young (who some friends will be enjoying even as I write this) and missed Cryptic Age’s album launch due to having to work in Scotland that day.

As far as I know, I’m only going to three gigs in June, and each is separated from the next by at least a week. So, with a bit more free time, hopefully normal service will be resumed soon.

May–A Round-up Part 1

Thursday 30th May: Quite frankly May has been a bit of a ridiculous month for gigs. I had been to seven in the first three and half weeks, decided not to go to one because I couldn’t really justify it and only missed another because I was working away.

I have already posted reviews of the first two but for a number of reasons haven’t had a chance to get round to the others. Now, with memories fading, nice weather meaning I’d rather be outside reading a good book and, in all honesty, a feeling of being a little “wiped out” in terms of putting together reviews (me with writers’ block… who’d have guessed) I find that I’m falling further and further behind. This blog was never intended to be as detailed as it has turned out and, while I’m grateful to the number of people who read it and, in some cases, like my work enough to share it, every so often there will be times that I can’t keep up. So, in order to fulfil its primary purpose as a record of my gig attendances, I’m simply going to round-up the rest of the month in a couple of smaller, less detailed posts. So, without further ado…

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Friday the 11th saw me at the Duchess for Morpheus Rising’s first gig since their triumphant tour to promote their debut album earlier in the year. It’s too soon after the album release for any new material to have been completed (if even started) so the set is still comprised completely of tracks from Let The Sleeper Awake. Changing around the running order serves to freshen up the performance in some ways, helped by the fact that the musicianship is superb and that the band clearly enjoy playing live. Even Andy Smith, who normally lurks at the back of the stage (both when playing with Morpheus Rising and with Mostly Autumn) seems happier coming forward and interacting with the rest of the band. Once again, we were treated to some entrancing and intricate guitar work but I think this was the first time we have also heard Damien provide vocals during the album’s title track.

Support came from Four Stones Deeper – a four-piece femme-fronted rock band with a slight difference in that the power guitar-playing seemed to come from vocalist Amy Humphrys. I can’t find much about them out there, but I believe that Amy’s brother Luke plays bass while Joe Garlick and Tom Reed complete the line-up. Tonight’s performance suffered slightly with the vocals which, despite being powerful enough to be heard above the music, were a little flat to start with, but the melodic/thrash mix was different enough to be interesting. The six song set included one cover, but I didn’t catch the title. Overall, the playing was tight, with Amy looking very relaxed and handling the changes of musical style with ease. Also bill was BastRad, who also supported Morpheus Rising at their last York gig. I was slightly more impressed this time around, although Tristan Fayers’ vocals are still a little strained in places. It was a slick performance, loud, energetic and powerful.

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Saturday the 12th and I’m “next door” at Fibbers for a band who I’ve only heard about, not heard anything by. When I arrived, the support – two ex-members of the headliners, whose names I never got – had already started. A broken microphone was making the vocals sound as if they were coming from a very dusty record and it was hastily replaced between songs, just in time for there to be no more vocals, just virtually indecipherable introductions to the tracks and a bit of between song banter between the performers, one of whom played a variety of hand drums and the other acoustic guitar and wind instruments that I didn’t recognise, accompanied sometimes by backing tracks. The music was, in the main, mellow and laid-back and occasionally had a kind of Eastern sound to it. 

Ozric Tentacles took to the stage with a plea from bass-player Brandi Wynne for somebody to “turn that dreadful music off”, referring to the background music that had been playing while the acts swapped over, before she engaged in an increasingly frustrating fight to liberate herself from her Fibbers VIP wristband. The Ozrics are a space-rock (think ambient rock with added ‘droid and space battle sound effects) or psychedelic instrumental rock band from Somerset who have been around, in one form or another, for nearly thirty years. I didn’t know what to expect from this gig, but ended up thoroughly enjoying it. With an animated backdrop which cycled through a mesmerising kaleidoscope of images and with the band occasionally disappearing behind a bank of smoke, onto and through which was projected the best light show I’ve seen at Fibbers (apart from the three banks of incredibly bright lights which seemed to have been strategically placed to blind as many of the audience as possible). The performance was tight, a set full of incredible instrumentals in which everything was played with a calm precision and no histrionics or posturing and no hint of any two tracks sounding similar. Towards the end of the performance, the band was joined by the guitar-player from the support, who played flute and seemed to also launch into some spoken vocals (poetry?) to the apparent wonder of Ms Wynne and possible confusion of anybody standing around me as I couldn’t hear a thing he was saying. Was the microphone even on?

Perhaps the strangest part of the gig, however, was the audience, which pretty much filled Fibbers. Parts of it looked as though they were auditioning for a low-budget zombie movie, with blocks of people simply swaying along to the music, while others could only be described as dancing their hearts out. All-in-all, it was like being at a hippy rave.

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Friday the 18th and I’m back at the Duchess. Opening proceedings tonight was Jon Amor Blues Group and I don’t think I’ve heard the volume cranked up so high at any previous Duchess gig. Frankly, in places it was too loud and, from where I was standing there appeared to be a fair amount of distortion in the sound. One song, Angel In A Black Dress, looked as if it contained a guitar solo, judging by the facial expressions and posturing coming from Mr Amor himself. Personally, I couldn’t make it out. A few of the songs sounded more like Rock ‘n’ Roll than Blues to me, but what do I know? Eventually, towards the end of the set, something seemed to click and during She Thought I Was An Eagle we finally got to hear some audibly clever guitar work. Unfortunately, by the last song the vocals were almost completely swamped by the music. Despite the sound problems, the band showed promise. Their debut album is gathering good reviews and I wouldn’t be averse to seeing them perform again, just with the volume turned down a few notches.

Until recently the only thing I knew about It Bites was their mid-eighties hit, Calling All The Heroes. I didn’t even know they were still together (albeit with the inevitable line-up changes) until Prog magazine covered their latest release, the concept album, Map Of The Past. Of course, when any band covered by that magazine play York, I’m almost certainly going to go along. Coming onto a stage adorned with artefacts representing the album’s concept (an old clock, an oil-painting, a globe) to the sound of a radio being tuned in, the band eased gently into the set with Man In The Photograph, performed simply on accordion and with no small degree of audience participation. It seems that I was in a minority in not having heard the new album yet (something I have since put right). What followed was, more or less, a play-through of the album leaving me with no doubt that It Bites had indeed morphed into a prog / rock fusion band, with influences ranging from Genesis to Runrig. It also left me wondering where everybody in the audience was when perhaps better known prog bands play York. The band left the stage after just over an hour which, I originally thought, was a slightly disappointing set compared to other gigs. They soon returned, however, with new frontman John Mitchell asking, “Shall we do some old stuff?” much to the delight of the crowd. The back catalogue seemed a bit faster and lighter than the somewhat darkly toned new material and, I think, much of it was taken from the band’s previous album, The Tall Ships. The audience, me excluded, seemed to know all the songs that were played, including the one from the final encore. The “hit”, however, was nowhere to be heard.

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Planetary Curve

Wednesday 9th May: I don’t know whether the support slots that Stolen Earth have been playing recently – The Strawbs, Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash, Colin Blunstone and, tonight, Curved Air, all with roots in the 70’s and, in all but one case, with prog sensibilities – have been a conscious choice by the band, with a view to building a fan-base by playing to audiences who would be predisposed to their music. Whether it was or not, though, the reception they get every time means that it’s working. By the third song of tonight’s set people were taking notice, something that doesn’t always happen with support bands. I even heard one punter, standing just behind me, telling whoever he was with that he was “enjoying this already”.

The set had, once again, been tweaked. This time it included the gentler Soul In A Jar and Silver Skies, both of which see Heidi playing the low whistle, which we hadn’t heard since last year’s Christmas gig. I suspect the ever-changing set-list not only gives the band more chances to practice all their songs ahead of June’s album launch gig, but also aligns their output more to the headliners, increasing the chance of picking up new fans. Tonight’s sound was, mostly, the best we’ve heard since that Christmas gig. In my opinion, though, it needed to be a bit quieter during Silver Skies, a lovely emotional song which tonight suffered slightly from a bit of “booming”. Ending, as usual, with what is almost certainly going to be the band’s anthem (initially, at least), the superbly Floyd-ian Perfect Wave, we were treated to another short, in terms of number of songs if not in length, but highly enjoyable set. Apparently, there had been a few technical issues, which had been solved with the cooperation of the headliners, before the gig started. You couldn’t tell. It’s not long until the debut album – A Far Cry From Home – is released and I’m looking forward both to it dropping through my letterbox and to hearing the full set once again.

I understand, from a few friends just slightly older than me, that posters of Sonja Kristina adorned many a teenaged boy’s bedroom wall during the early 70s. I missed out on that pleasure by a few years, being just nine when the band split in 1976, and had only heard of Curved Air through word of mouth. A couple of years ago, after reforming in 2008, they were due to play York and I had a ticket – that gig was cancelled and I was told tonight (by the person who had the other one) that it was because only two tickets were sold. I don’t know how true that figure is, but there was a lot more sold for this gig and, as seems to be the norm for gigs by 70s bands, there was a more than reasonable crowd. Sonja, now in her sixties but still showing a hint of past glories even if she can’t lay claim to a youthful figure anymore, is joined by just one original member – the marvellously named drummer Florian Pilkington-Miksa. Rounding out the rest of the band are Kit Morgan (guitar), Robert Norton (keyboards), Chris Harris (Bass and backing vocals) and Catweazle look-a-like Paul Sax (violin). 

It’s Sax who took the lead during a stirring instrumental track before Kristina entered stage left for an energetic, if slightly underwhelming vocal, performance of It Happened Today. This was followed by (I think) Young Mother which included a wonderfully dextrous keyboard solo in its middle section. Originally, Curved Air mixed prog rock with classical and folk influences, the latter being apparent in Melinda, with its gentler start and Kristina on acoustic guitar. The quieter sound allowed the vocals to come across much more clearly showing the Kristina still has a good voice as well as a formidable stage presence. Mixing the rockier with the slower, the set continued with Propositions, Screw and the lovely piano opening of Easy. It wasn’t until Hide And Seek, a much rockier number featuring a staccato drum-line, that we get the first noticeably guitar-led song, showing how much prominence the keyboards and violin have been given so far. This was followed by Midnight Wire which featured a range of guitar work from subtle to near-screaming and, finally, some good vocals during a louder song. Unfortunately, the sound seemed to be wandering at this point and The Purple Speed Queen suffered from the bass suddenly being too high. After his time in the spotlight, Morgan left the stage and Kristina once again took up the acoustic guitar for Elfin Boy, which was followed by Phantasmagoria (with Morgan back on) and the epic Marie Antoinette which showed exactly how powerful Kristina’s vocals could be (and proved to be my favourite song of the set). Everdance was followed by the only Curved Air track that resides in my CD collection (until tonight, that is), but this version of the band’s 1971 top ten hit, Back Street Luv, was more the album version than the one that I vaguely recognise. The set ended with Metamorphosis, with it’s near classical piano opening leading into crashing drums and a superb guitar solo, and then a continuation of the instrumental opener with some fast and furious violin playing from Sax. There was no encore but, after nearly and hour and three quarters of quality music, you could hardly complain.

A magazine review of another gig on this tour includes the quote “Curved Air’s music may not have aged as well as some of their contemporaries, but equally there’s no denying that they remain formidable live”. In hindsight, I’d have to say I agree. I walked away from tonight’s set having had my expectations of Curved Air exploded. With their much touted folk and classical influences, I expected something a little gentler or, perhaps, less rockier. I also expected the music to be slightly more dated than it sounded tonight. Having bought a two-CD retrospective and listened to some of it, I think that the originals sound more like what I was expecting. It seems that the live set has been spruced up and modernised slightly. While I like both, I know which I prefer.

After the gig, Kristina came to the merchandise table to sign purchases and chat to fans, meaning that I got to say a few words to a 70s icon. Be still my beating heart…

Black ‘n’ Stack

Sunday 6th May: Due to a couple of pre-gig pints Andy, Yvonne and I were a little late arriving at tonight’s gig and, consequently, missed the beginning of the support act’s set. I’m not sure how long they had been on stage when we arrived, but there was something vaguely familiar about them. A glance over to the merchandise table revealed a publicity poster that, even from a distance, jogged my memory into remembering them as Blackheart, an acoustic duo who I’ve heard of only because they occasionally play what amounts to the local village hall. When they finished playing whatever song we had walked in on, Andy leaned over and suggested I might want to take advantage of the more intimate venue next time they played there. Not that they were lost in the Duchess, simply that they were so good.

Rick Pilkington plays guitar, occasionally with what sounded to me like added loop effects - I have since been told by the duo that they don't use loops, which makes Rick's playing even more impressive and shows what I know... - while the stunning (in looks and voice) Chrissy Mostyn provides the vocals and, for a couple of songs, plays the omnichord (an electronic instrument manufactured by Suzuki – I had to look it up…). Introducing one downbeat song, Chrissy describes the duo as a “miserable band” but that’s not something that permeates the set. The third song we get to hear is much faster than the previous ones, played in a finger-picking style and with vocals that reminded me of Vanessa Carlton. Towards the end of the set, the duo are joined on stage by Clare Lindley (touring member of Stackridge) whose violin playing adds a little extra to the performance, although Chrissy seems a little surprised and pleased that she stays for the final song, current single Wednesday Afternoon, which is as far removed from miserable as you can get and provides a nice, foot-tapping end to an entertaining set.

There has been a few bands who found fame in the 70’s playing in York recently but Stackridge are the first that I’ve seen who I’ve never even heard of before. However, a friend who is a big fan (and whose visit York from the States missed the gig by just two days) had told me that I would probably like them. So, in for a penny…

Formed in 1970 and both opening and closing the inaugural Glastonbury festival of that year, by 1974 Stackridge appeared to be on the verge of greatness. However, line-up changes eventually led to the band splitting up in 1976. The individual members continued to make music and, in 2007, Stackridge is reborn. The current line-up includes original members Andy Cresswell-Davis (lead guitar, vocals and keyboards), James Warren (guitar and vocals) and Jim Walter (bass) with touring members Glenn Tommey (keyboards and vocals), Eddie John (drums) and Clare Lindley (violin and vocals) completing the band we see tonight.

Not knowing any of their material, I was completely at the mercy of songs being introduced in a coherent way, but it wasn’t until three songs in that 1973’s The Road To Venezuala was the first to be announced. Even before that, though, Andy’s description of the band as “whimsical” seemed to be accurate and the lyrics were edging towards the quirky side. Whatever it was that came next, the brushed drums and clipped vocals gave it the feel of a Noel Coward song while the next included some lovely harmonised vocals. Clare changed from violin to acoustic guitar while Andy moved up to electric (and somehow managed to look less comfortable playing it, at least until later in the set) for Long Dark River (from the latest album, A Victory For Common Sense), which was a much rockier number which built to a stunning ending. What followed sounded familiar and I originally thought it was a cover. However, Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime was originally recorded by The Korgis, a spin-off from Stackridge (although it has also been covered by a number of artists). Then it was back to 1972 for Lummy Days before both Clare and Andy took up ukuleles amidst jokes about how all aging rockers eventually have to play them, how Clare isn’t that old and that, eventually, Jim (who, throughout the evening reminded me somehow of a children’s TV presenter of the Johnny Ball ilk) was the only member of the band not playing one – yes, even the drummer and keyboard-player could be seen strumming away. It was definitely back to the quirky and whimsical side of things, especially when Eddie also wandered to the front of stage to provide a bit of whistling. A superb instrumental piece was followed by Something About The Beatles, another Korgis song, which acknowledges John Lennon’s influence on the band’s music. Then it was back to the latest release for Lost And Found and final song Boots And Shoes, before the band returned for an instrumental encore which had a distinctly Scottish influence, starting with just Clare on violin and Eddie on what looked to me like a bodhrán drum before ending with the full band. The above makes it sound as though we were short-changed on the length of set, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Over the course of about ninety minutes we were treated to something like sixteen, mostly extended songs.

Whimsical it might have been, but you couldn’t question the quality of musicianship on show. A mix of folk and progressive rock, Stackridge’s music left me with a smile on my face. Most of the band may be in their sixties (in fact, I’m beginning to think that, if I were to add up the ages of the band members I’ve seen this year I would get something slightly older than Methuselah) but they can still play and entertain brilliantly and clearly enjoy playing. Hopefully this line-up will endure for a bit longer so that we get a chance to see them again.

CD Review: Best Of York

Thursday 3rd May: “Best of”… Perhaps the most subjective phrase that can ever be used on an album title. I remember, many years ago when I was first getting into music, pointing out to an established music fan just a couple of years older than me, that I had seen a “Best of…” album (the band escapes me) being advertised. His response was along the lines of, “You’d be better off putting a tape together of your own favourite songs from the band.” In most cases, “Best of…” translates to “most well known” or, perhaps, “most commercial”, usually with a couple of new tracks thrown in to entice the completist into making a purchase. (Although, in these days of individual track downloads, the latter is probably becoming less effective.)

To put together an album to represent, musically, the “Best of…” an entire city, even one just the size of York, is a brave thing to do. But it’s exactly what Connor Devine did as part of his BA music production course, setting out to raise a bit of money for charity as well. I first saw an advert, on Facebook, asking for interested acts to get in touch with Connor last year and I’m not sure how widely the call went out. The album itself has a nice variety of artists, covering a few genres, but is, perhaps, more representative of the smaller and, in most cases, more mainstream bands of the local music scene. By that, I mean that long-established, even if not known to the wider public, acts are conspicuous by their absence. There’s no Mostly Autumn, Shed Seven, One Night Only, or Elliot Minor and the extreme metal of the likes of RSJ probably wouldn’t sit too well alongside most of the tracks.

What you do get are is a sample of some of the younger, less established bands who, for the most part, play the support-slot, pub and festival circuits, along with a few who are beginning to move towards local headline slots and maybe one or two who have gone just a little bit further.

If I’m honest, some of the bands on the CD aren’t quite as well served by their tracks than others. Echo Dynamo’s Blame, a catchy indie-pop song, suffers a little from vocals swamped by the music but In Spades’ energetic Ghost In The Mirror sounds very poor (a shame since, while freely admitting that music is just a hobby and that he has no desire to try to “make it big”, frontman Stewart King works hard to get people to attend his gigs and, I suspect, saw this CD as a platform to get a bit more exposure, as a lot of the bands will have). Katie And The Questions are represented by Perfect Life, a song which evokes 60’s pop while including a grinding guitar riff and atmospheric keyboards but the vocals are nowhere near as good as when it was performed live at the launch gig. Despite that it’s still the most effective “earworm” on the album. Even Vicki Mack, usually superb vocally when performing live, seems to struggle in a few places during Dream Of Apollo’s Regrets Of The Devil which, with it’s steely guitar, moody bass and complex structure is one of that band’s most impressive songs. I have no insight into the recording process, so it might simply be that a lack of time meant that these tracks are a little less polished than the others but, despite their faults, they are excellent representations of the bands in question.

Of the other bands that I am already familiar with, the folk pop of Pelico’s is a pleasant surprise – when we saw them support Hope & Social a while back, hardly anybody was listening and the band seemed to fade into the background. At the time, I commented that they would probably be more suited to a smaller, more intimate venue and, if anything, Who You Are, with its jangly guitar, jaunty drum-line and clear vocals shows that they deserved more attention. There’s more folk, of a slightly more traditional flavour, in Until The Dawn, from Suzy Bradley And The Morning After. Along with Suzy’s lovely voice, the unique make-up of this band has provided a nice sound when I’ve seen them live. Unfortunately, I think the choice of song for the album is slightly suspect, if only for the fact that David Martin’s electric guitar is hard to pick out. Boss Caine (Dan Lucas/GT Turbo) opens the album with Ghosts And Drunks, another interesting choice as (I believe) it is the only song from his repertoire that was written by somebody else, in this case Scarborough’s Joe Solo. What that say’s about Dan’s confidence in his own output can only be speculation but it is a cracking song in it’s own right and is still very representative of the Boss Caine sound. I hadn’t heard of What The Cat Dragged in before this album was put together but I’ve said elsewhere how much they impressed me during the launch gig. They sound like a mix of The Cure and an archetypal 1920’s cabaret and their act is a mixture of darkness and burlesque (in the word’s true sense rather than the theatrical) and Emily Lies, a distinctly unstructured song with lots of style changes, is another good representation.

With the exception of In Spades, the second half of the album comprises the bands that I don’t know and, so, serves it’s purpose as a sampler. Club Smith appear to be the (arguably) biggest name on the album. I have a feeling that we saw them live a couple of times back in 2008, in a previous guise of The Hair. If anything their track, Causing Doubt – sounding exactly as you would expect from a band who have supported the likes of The Pigeon Detectives – has the best sound on the album (and is the only track not to have its recording details listed). Testtone3 are one of the more “different” sounds – Free Ride Home starts off slightly atmospheric before launching into a high-energy rock/electronica style. Stress Fracture, from Verona Fault Line, is as close to the album gets to having a “heavy” track and impresses with its distinctive drum-line and taut vocals, while Rocketsmith’s The Missing is another song recorded outside of the project itself and, again, seems to have a cleaner sound. The song tells of the effects of somebody going missing on those around him and, if anything, its energetic indie sound is almost (only almost, mind) too light for the subject. The album ends with Riff Clichards, more high-energy from Chaos In Verse, with a somewhat familiar sounding, yet elusive, opening riff.

Of the thirteen bands on the album, I have already seen seven play live (and two of them I already class as favourite acts, with a third potentially heading that way). Of the remaining six, there aren’t any that I would avoid, even if I wouldn’t necessarily buy albums from all of them. This album does have a few faults but, overall, I think it is a great (and cheap) way to sample some of York’s musical talent. Connor Devine should be applauded for his efforts

The Best Of York album is available from iTunes, www.bestofyorkalbum.com or from Rebound Records (Gillygate, York). All proceeds go to MacMillan’s Cancer Support.