La Femme by Hugo Guyader
We’re told that it’s only their second gig. It doesn’t feel
like it.
Qtier are minimalist, but tuneful in the same way that the
XX or Radiohead are. They pulse, they tick. There’s a thin falsetto vocal. This
band exists in the spaces between the notes.
And they are very brief. They do three songs and they’re
gone. It’s a pleasant little cameo. I’ll keep an eye on them.
Fantasy Rainbow are deliberately misleading.
Centre stage the handsome guitarist, his quiff tall and
proud, stands up to the microphone. He turns out to be a Maguffin. In truth, he barely sings at all.
The main singer and progenitor of the band is Oliver Catt,
here acting as second guitarist lurking stage right in tracksuit bottoms and an
enveloping black jumper. He has a drawling
delivery that works very well in the context of this music which marries fuzzy
thrash with heartfelt angst.
They are a very interesting outfit – the songs are complex
and varied, yet form a coherent and dynamic set. There’s some real bite here. It’s a measure of how much I like them that I
am disappointed not to be able to find them afterwards to buy their album.
I last saw La Femme at this year’s 1234 Shoreditch and liked
them enough to come back for a second helping here tonight.
And from the moment they start until the end of their set
they do not put a foot wrong. They are absolutely terrific.
There are five keyboards strung across the stage, although
in practice there are rarely more than three employed at a time. From behind
this wall there’s a chic riot going on.
It’s just so JOYOUS. Every song is a surf pop delight, and
if you can’t dance to this you are probably dead.
Vocals are traded between Marlon Magnee, nattily attired,
his hair sticking out at right angles, and the lovely Clemence, grooving furiously and
also dressed to kill. Each song is propulsive, a breakneck helter skelter ride
of beats.
Although there is a definite surf rock, Sixties feel, this
is also allied to a real modern dance sensibility. Tunes build and build before
the inevitable break down that sends everyone into paroxysms.
I’m smiling so much that my face hurts.
I could watch this band all night and when they finish, the
venue is just packed with happy, dazed looking people.
A really good night out. La Femme have now become one of my
current darlings. Magnifique!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment