The Grace Darling
Neither French nor
animalistic, Animaux are one of the
more competent bands to grace the small stage of the Grace Darling. The first of the evening’s three bands
(none of which have fewer than seven members), Animaux specialise in the brand
of polished soulful pop beloved by teenage musicians having fun with their
instrumental proficiency, which means there are riffs copped from all over the
place everything is played and sung with technique to spare, and is totally
bereft of actual pop or soul. Despite this, it’s hard to deny the fun being had
on and off the crowded stage. It’s also the first of three exemplary displays
of sound engineering by the mixer who does a brilliant job juggling instrument swapping,
horn sections, copious percussion and multiple vocalists.
As audience numbers
pick up, The Bon Scotts give them
something to get excited about. Featuring harp, baritone horn, accordion, cello
and a rhythm section raised on The Waterboys and Beirut, songs like Let’s Do What the Catholics Do and Lovely Bones (‘this has nothing to do
with the book or film, that’s an unfortunate coincidence’) showcase singer
Robert Zimmerman’s (yes, really) deft way with words and references. So
passionately delivered is the music, its pace so frantic and acoustic
instruments so prominent the songs sound politically driven, though the only
politics Zimmerman is interested in are personal. The band’s gifted
arrangements and banter like ‘this song is about songs you love now that will
eventually be used to sell you crap, like fridges’ betray an imagination at
work that will only get better with time.
By the time The Good China assemble themselves
amongst the plastic foliage and paper lanterns decorating the stage, the venue
is packed. Within minutes of the first song kicking in, you’re forced to ask
‘how can a band this good not be everywhere?’ While there are at least four
singers in the octet, each with a different style of song, the songwriting
quality never drops and the variations on attention-wresting imaginative pop
music seem limitless. Singer James Grech favours clipped Phoenix-like funk,
Nick McMillan an exciting Go Team!-style verbose intensity while backing vocals
of Mietta Sancolo and violin of Quyen Le are the most notable examples of the
musical prowess needed to make songs seem this thrillingly simple. Tonight’s
show is to launch new single No More
Maps, No More Roads one of several high points in a stellar set.
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