Review: Metronomy @ Clwb
Swn Presents Metronomy
With support from Get People and Ghostpoet
Clwb Ifor Bach, Thursday April 21
We don’t really do technology in my house. At least we do, but not awfully well. Our television, for say, was recently replaced after some 15 years of service and our new gismo is quite ‘swish’ as my dad would, and indeed did, say. However, despite their best intentions to upgrade, the most promising feature of the machine, the ability to stream YouTube videos, was squashed by my parents’ ill-advised choice of wireless ‘hub’, which I had absolutely nothing to do with, you understand; it was their other son Tom’s fault entirely.
The same is true of our DAB radio, which we keenly purchased early on in their existence in those hazy days of medium wave. However, despite choosing a reputable Japanese brand beginning with ‘s’ and varying its location around our home, it has not once worked for longer than ten minutes. Over the past few weeks I have finally begun my pre-planned switch over to BBC 6 Music via the internet, which does work occasionally, and the array of fine new music available on the station has both astounded and enlightened. One of the best bands I discovered but a week ago is Metronomy, an electronic quartet from “London via Brighton (by way of Devon)”, and by some stroke of serendipity they were playing in Clwb last night...
But first the support; Kicking off the night was London’s Get People, whose electronic pop was rather ‘tropical’ as their MySpace suggests - they used bongos and a pineapple as percussion - and the fledging crowd seemed to warm to their 80’s like sound. Having gone away and listened to them again, I hear soulful Pet Shop Boys grooves, especially in their debut single Odyssey, and I am told that an EP is to be released later this year. They’re ‘new on the scene’ but their set showed definite promise - a name for the future perhaps.
Then followed Coventry’s Obaro Ejimiwe, aka Ghostpoet, whose recent and stunningly titled debut album Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam has made a splash in the alternative hip-hop pond and beyond, his original sleepy sound tipped for success. Dubbing himself "a lad with a lisp with some stories to tell", the producer-cum-MC seemed to really connect with the room with his fashionable hat, spectacles and effortless swagger. Prior to the gig I briefly sampled his music and found it somewhat lukewarm but he really came alive on stage; the electronic beats, confident lyrics and charming tendency to repeat what he was saying, saying, saying, genuinely brilliant. “I keep on writing, writing / But them folk ain't biting, biting" was a particularly memorable lyric from Liiines, summing up his being under the radar, but I feel that Ejimiwe is on his way up.
And for the headliners. As I said, I only recently ‘discovered’ Metronomy and so only knew a few of their tunes but have to say I immensely enjoyed their set from the very beginning and recognised an awful lot of their music. Donning moon-like lights strapped to their chests and brimming with nonchalant energy, the band breezed through tunes old and new (they have been an outfit for six years or so) and Clwb overflowed and overheated with luminous electric pop. Their music is well crafted and finely layered; no surprise then that they have received acclaim for their remixed work of artists such as Gorillaz and Franz Ferdinand and have collaborated with Florence and the Machine and Kate Nash.
Their finest moments came in the delicious base line of Heartbreaker, the cheeky backing vocals of A Thing For Me and the gorgeously catchy The Look, their recent single and my personal favourite. A mighty fine evening was had by all and one audience member, namely my mate Gareth, said the gig was “unbelievably enjoyable and a most joyful way to spend a Thursday evening, especially when in the company of such a fine friend in Tom.” Or at least words to that effect. Cheers Gaz.
Quite truthfully now, there is nothing like a good dose of live music on a spring evening and so thank you to the folks at Swn for another 'fresh’ night of entertainment in the capital and for a spot on the guest list (via theSprout). Bring on more 'noise'! Clwb was suitably intimate and poorly ventilated for it to be a rather full on sweaty affair so thanks to them as well and while I'm at it thanks mum and dad for your love and support, for even with your technological failings, I still managed to find a band worth going out for via the web.
Cor blimey, it feels like an awards ceremony...
3 Comments – Postiwch sylw
CeefaxOfLife
Rhoddwyd sylw 61 mis yn ôl - 22nd April 2011 - 18:02pm
Metronomy were awesome. So glad they've kept the chest lights and dodgy dance moves. Ghostpoet was also good, but I thought Get People were like a League One Friendly Fires.
Sam Sprout (Editor)
Rhoddwyd sylw 61 mis yn ôl - 22nd April 2011 - 18:13pm
Hooray for Metronomy! Hooray for playing two tracks off their first album! Hooray for Oscar Nash, the keyboardist who looks like my Uncle Paul! Hooray for the synced-up chest lights.
Metronomy are one of the few bands I properly love. Loved them ever since seeing their endearingly shambolic show on my 21st birthday in Newquay far too many years ago.
Brilliant gig last night and great review tommy b!
Tom_Bevan
Rhoddwyd sylw 61 mis yn ôl - 23rd April 2011 - 07:56am
hooray!
ta sam