Share
The Eden House, Legion, Lilygun
8 Feb 2010, 23:31
Sat 6 Feb – The Eden House
OK, time to bring back the obligatory alcohol-related comment since tonight's oddysey started in the Seven Stars - and my two contenders are Cotleigh's Honey Buzzard and Sharp's Cornish Coaster both of which started the evening in a suitably relaxed fashion. Of the two, preferred the Coaster as the Buzzard was a little heavy on the honey/chocolate for my tastes on this occasion : )
That meant we didn't get to see all of Lilygun's set, but the 4 songs we did get to hear sum up why this band deserve a bigger audience. Their style swings on a compass somewhere between ephemeral, folk/rock, intense, fusion, all with a darkwave twist and topped off by Anna-Christina's lorelei vocals that draw you in and keep you there. No drums tonight, just the addition of Adam B on guitar, but none the less powerful for it. Intriguing and definitely worth checking out further.
Which brings us to Legion, that's to say this Legion, and the promise of drum machines, smoke machines, amphetamines which is only a fedora away from full Sisters' territory, and yet not quite... This band is a slightly different animal, the guitar more sparse and decorative, the bass less brooding, the drum machine more rebellious, a sly sense of humour and synth providing the backbone of the sound which is where we diverge - this sound is not unlike the Human League. And that's not a bad thing. It has the soundscape of 00's darkwave/goth, but there is a plaintive edge to the vocal that hints at a throwback musical gene lurking in the mix. New ep, Hereafter is the place to start.
Last up the, The Eden House and this time we get a real drummer and the millinery ante is upped by 3, but given this band's heritage that's almost part of the constitution. While the roots of this project are with NFD and while the equipment is scaled back a notch, the landscape of sound they produce will still swallow you whole, driven as it is by Tony Pettit and Bill Rippin's pulsating rhythm section and the mix of Stephen Carey and Andy Jackson's shimmering guitars. The style is hypnotic and leans more towards early Nephilim, maybe even The Mission, but without ever quite crossing old ground. Sure, it's as familiar as an old friend, but at the same time you sense the stranger within and it keeps you on that edge. That edge also includes a suite of guest vocalists and for tonight's show the band are assisted by the talents of Amadine Ferrari, Valenteen and Evi Vine all of whom add another dimension to songs they perform. The whole set was inspiring, with the stand out being 'To Believe in Something' by a short brim. Considering there are at least 20 musicians involved in this project I hope they can keep it together for a follow-up as this stuff is pure gold...or maybe black magic.
OK, time to bring back the obligatory alcohol-related comment since tonight's oddysey started in the Seven Stars - and my two contenders are Cotleigh's Honey Buzzard and Sharp's Cornish Coaster both of which started the evening in a suitably relaxed fashion. Of the two, preferred the Coaster as the Buzzard was a little heavy on the honey/chocolate for my tastes on this occasion : )
That meant we didn't get to see all of Lilygun's set, but the 4 songs we did get to hear sum up why this band deserve a bigger audience. Their style swings on a compass somewhere between ephemeral, folk/rock, intense, fusion, all with a darkwave twist and topped off by Anna-Christina's lorelei vocals that draw you in and keep you there. No drums tonight, just the addition of Adam B on guitar, but none the less powerful for it. Intriguing and definitely worth checking out further.
Which brings us to Legion, that's to say this Legion, and the promise of drum machines, smoke machines, amphetamines which is only a fedora away from full Sisters' territory, and yet not quite... This band is a slightly different animal, the guitar more sparse and decorative, the bass less brooding, the drum machine more rebellious, a sly sense of humour and synth providing the backbone of the sound which is where we diverge - this sound is not unlike the Human League. And that's not a bad thing. It has the soundscape of 00's darkwave/goth, but there is a plaintive edge to the vocal that hints at a throwback musical gene lurking in the mix. New ep, Hereafter is the place to start.
Last up the, The Eden House and this time we get a real drummer and the millinery ante is upped by 3, but given this band's heritage that's almost part of the constitution. While the roots of this project are with NFD and while the equipment is scaled back a notch, the landscape of sound they produce will still swallow you whole, driven as it is by Tony Pettit and Bill Rippin's pulsating rhythm section and the mix of Stephen Carey and Andy Jackson's shimmering guitars. The style is hypnotic and leans more towards early Nephilim, maybe even The Mission, but without ever quite crossing old ground. Sure, it's as familiar as an old friend, but at the same time you sense the stranger within and it keeps you on that edge. That edge also includes a suite of guest vocalists and for tonight's show the band are assisted by the talents of Amadine Ferrari, Valenteen and Evi Vine all of whom add another dimension to songs they perform. The whole set was inspiring, with the stand out being 'To Believe in Something' by a short brim. Considering there are at least 20 musicians involved in this project I hope they can keep it together for a follow-up as this stuff is pure gold...or maybe black magic.