Christopher Nosnibor
The last decade has seen The Brudenell evolve from a low-key space used by local and lesser-known visiting bands of the type most other venues wouldn’t let through the door (my first visit to The Brudenell was to see Whitehouse) to one of the UK’s most renowned music venues. Despite this – and perhaps one of the reasons people truly love the place – they still cater for the smaller bands and locals, and open their doors to unusual events, in the way only a non-profit organisation can. Tonight’s show is a classic example: four quality acts comprising one of the most eclectic bills I’ve seen this year for the grand entry fee of precisely nothing. It may be a way of enticing people in on a Sunday evening after the end of the academic year, but I can’t imagine anyone would grumble at paying a fiver for this. Take the headliners, for a start: Living Body is the new musical vehicle for Jeff T. Smith of Juffage renown, in collaboration with Katie Harkin (Harkin, Sky Larkin, Wild Beasts, Sleater-Kinney), Vessel Tom Evans, Alice Rowan (Mayshe-Mayshe) & Sarah Statham (Esper Scout).
It’s a busy night for Alice Rowan. Starting the evening’s entertainment off after a few technical hitches with a Mayshe-Mayshe set. Something amongst the myriad wires that connect her loop pedal and various other effects and one of her mics isn’t sending the right kind of signal, but after she skips the first song and gets going, she very quickly has everyone’s attention. Airing songs from her new November EP, she showcases an enticing and intriguing brand of minimalist electronic pop with hints of Young Marble Giants. There are some interesting beats and some resonant bass notes in the mix alongside chiming bells, whistles and hair dryer and Alice’ meek and understated style of performance is an integral part of the appeal of a set that’s utterly compelling.
Mayshe-Mayshe
I caught the tail end of Buen Chico’s set at Long Division Festival in June, and found their brand of quirky indie entertaining enough. On that day, they suffered for appearing alongside and in between so many outstanding acts. Singer / keysman Morgan has hair and a frame which suggests he was born to be in an indie band, and the foursome channel a certain nerdiness which is self-effacing and charming: their clever-clever lyrics are delivered without smugness or superiority. They have some decent tunes and they play well. Concluding their set with a dilogy of theologically-themed songs inspired by Job. They’re good fun, but again, prove to be the night’s least memorable band simply by virtue of the outstanding nature of the other acts on the bill.
Buen Chico
Despite their having been in existence for a few years now, and despite the fact I have – and very much like – all of their releases to date (the album Contour Lines (2014) and 2015 Violet EP), this is the first time I’ve seen Shield Patterns perform live. With the duo – Richard Knox and Claire Brentnall – largely static behind a vast bank of synths and digital kit, they cultivate a certain distance from the audience. Swathed in smoke, illuminated primarily by fixed red backlights, they’re almost silhouetted from the audience’s vantage point.
Shield Patterns
The stark yet shrouded visuals compliment the music perfectly as they build deep, murky swells of blooding sound. Knox – sporting a Melvins T-shirt which suggests he’s not all about the atmospheric and ethereal 2/7 – has a particularly interesting device with which, using a conventional drumstick – he ‘drums’ to create immense, thunderous drum sounds which boom vastly and echo as if the sound is travelling six miles up a valley in a grand mountain range. Theirs is a sound which evokes immense spaces and transports the listener to places far beyond the confines of a room. While I always admired Glissando (Richard’s previous musical venture), the hushed nature of their performances meant that if you couldn’t hear a pin drop, then you probably couldn’t hear half of their music either. The Shield Patterns sound is altogether bigger, bolder, and denser, and more than manages to drown out the endless babble of the chubby tosser behind me. Moreover, their music is completely captivating and everything else fades to nothing in the face of their immersive, texture-filled songs.
Shield Patterns
That Katie Harkin is absent from Living Body’s first tour – being a member of about half a dozen other bands as well as having a solo career, it’s not entirely surprising she has other touring commitments – isn’t an impedance to their creating a rich and varied sound. Adopting a standing position behind the drum kit, Sarah Statham makes her presence felt physically and sonically, and it’s clear from simply looking at this ragtag collective (who could also easily qualify as a Leeds supergroup, Alice’s residence in York notwithstanding) that they’re different, and that each member has something unique to offer. The resultant output is fittingly different too.
Living Body
Jeff T. Smith and Alice Rowan co-front the band and banter their way through the set with a disarming naturalness, mock-bickering over which songs are ‘rock’ and which ones ‘pop’ (the way to tell a rock song is by Alice’s wearing of shades). The fact is that there are elements of both to all of the songs, with shoegaze, post-rock, folk, sunny indie-rock and even 70s radio-rock all spun into an inventive aural cocktail – or, as they refer to it, post-Brexitcore. Because everything’s post-something and everything is something-core. As such, it’s perfect. Moreover, a month on from the referendum and the reality of what the future may bring is still sinking in. Recent weeks have brought political and financial turmoil, a terrifying upsurge in racism and hate crimes and if only one thing is certain, it’s that Britain is a nation horribly divided. But for a short time, everything is ok. In this small corner of Leeds, thanks to great bands and cheap beer, there is no disunity, and life is good. Hail the Living Body!
Aural Aggravation 