DIM SWN | LIVE REVIEW

Various venues, Cardiff, Sat 18 Oct

BABY QUEENS

Clwb Ifor Bach

Saddled with the possibly unenviable task of opening the Horizons stage at lunchtime, Baby Queens have drawn a more than impressive crowd all the same. They only do four songs, but none of them are exactly bitesize – the last of these, Had My Heart, is a multifaceted thing which starts off on a Destiny’s Child tip, kinda, but ends up on its own (great) pathway. Exhibiting elements of soul, r’n’b and hip-hop without being specifically any of those things, their live band setup is moderately unusual in the context of those genres, but works well for them on the likes of By The River, a tribute to their Cardiff homestead. (NG)

 

GRUMBLING FUR
Dempseys
London duo Grumbling Fur craft their experimental pop from a seated position: Daniel O’Sullivan even has a soft toy on his table of equipment, like he’s taking an exam. This, along with this room having no stage as such, encourages everyone to sit in front of them in a big, stupid, space-wasting semicircle. Once this has been broached, they are quietly thrilling to watch, as is their combo of fuzzy drone-rock and grandiose 80s pop to listen to. O’Sullivan and Alexander Tucker cheerfully trade one-liners, loop a zither (O’Sullivan), rise from their chair to play a bass solo (Tucker) and intermittently make those old or indie enough think loosely of Wire, AR Kane or Moonshake. Cobweb-clearing goodness. (NG)

 

PLU
Cardiff Fashion Quarter
One does wonder if growing up with your future musical compadres gives you a discernible advantage. I would wager that this was the case with North Walian sibling folk trio Plu. Their vocal harmonies are as polished and as characterful as their bewitching blend of Welsh folk and Americana giving definite credibility to the theory that talent can be blood bound. (CPI)

 

TITUS MONK
Gwdihw
Titus Monk’s live set sounds somewhat different to the haywire filter-washed instrumentals and songs found on his Soundcloud page. Here we had more intimate versions of (real name) Adam J Qüæck’s compositions: more or less just his deep gruff baritone and an assiduously strummed acoustic guitar with a few loop pedals. Forgive me for not painting a very vivid picture but in actual fact, this was all he needed as the incredible range and richness of his voice conveyed his earnest songs in a most dynamic and compelling fashion. (CPI)

 

LUVV
Undertone
This Cardiff-based quartet feature ex or current members of a few bands, the one I’m most au fait with being feedback-slaked punk dudes Chain Of Flowers. Together now for about a year, the cosmetic similarities between Luvv and Chain Of Flowers have… not completely disappeared, but you’d have to be a real grouch to not welcome the existence of both round these parts. This afternoon they play for 20, maybe 25 minutes; frontman Matt Short is a commanding presence on the mic during their songs, which sound like gothy postpunk and punky jangle-indie and 90s post-hardcore, but in a way that makes the listener worry he may be way off with all those references. Then Matt tries to plug the new tape they have for sale and trips over his words and his mate Ross laughs at him. I still bought the tape from their website while I was writing this review, though. (NG)

 

MARTIN CARR
Dempseys
Martin Carr strikes me as one capable of many musical virtues. The long standing influence of his time in The Boo Radleys hasn’t diminished over the years and he remains an important and valued songwriter, not this ‘lost figure’ the media perpetuates him to be. The tight satisfying grooves and big vocal sound (albeit sometimes masked by poor levels) drew a hefty crowd and the sheer number of those who watched on in awe expectedly confined me to the very back of the venue. (CPI)

 

CHRIS JONES / KIZZY CRAWFORD
Cardiff Fashion Quarter
Chris Jones filled Cardiff Fashion Quarter with enrapturing interpretations of traditional folk songs and a considerable, weighty sound for just one man and his guitar. Whilst the songs he played were largely of a balladic and sentimental poise, his control and projection make his performance sound larger than life. After Chris, Kizzy Crawford is but another shining example of why the Horizons project was conceived (a concerted effort from the BBC and the Arts Council to promote great Welsh independent music). She clearly has a lot to bring to the table and illustrates as much of it as possible with the aid of a loop pedal and other foot controlled gadgetry. Creative arrangements of her own cleverly imagined songs melding the genres of jazz, soul and folk seamlessly together are fully realised under her own complete authority. (CPI)

 

RAG ‘N’ BONEMAN
Buffalo
Rag ‘N’ Boneman had a minimal setup but used it to maximum effect. Had his strategy afforded it, I would have liked to have seen him with a full band but other than a very skilled drummer, he appeared to be using just a backing track. Nevertheless, I was still stunned and stupefied by the gravitas and resonance that his soulful throatiness imparted. (CPI)

 

JAGAARA
Dempseys
There wasn’t much space for late punters when Jagaara and their mammoth synth-tinged, soulful rock/pop took the stage. A combined three-part harmony would have been the big draw with this group had the sound not let them down. Only lead singer Jane Edmonson was audible, with sisters Ruth and Cat very hard to detect. Their instrumental prowess, however, was evident throughout the set, with dynamic interplay between musicians a joy to behold: particularly exemplary of this were the bassist and drummer, whose enthusiasm for their performance could not be more apparent to the crowd. The band’s overall sound was reminiscent of the electronic-infused pop of London Grammar, with an added rocky edge that was favourably received. (CPI)

 

A WINGED VICTORY FOR THE SULLEN
St David’s Hall
The much anticipated A Winged Victory For The Sullen were something altogether different. When the undulating swells of their delicate strings and sonorous synths roused from a low hum they instigated that familiar lump in my throat that you know is only ever brought about when you are trying hard to supress emotion for fear of – god forbid – showing it in public… Adding to the drama was an impressive yet basic light show with dry ice oozing from the stage, the whole thing reminding me of the similarly effective experience of Sinfonia Cymru’s collaboration with Zwolf, Unbuttoned, from last year.  However, after 10 minutes of hunching forward with intrigue, I found myself craving a shift in pace because mesmerising as it was, it lost impact and the climax the music seemed to be foreshadowing never came. (CPI)

 

SEN SEGUR
Gwdihw
Sen Segur were a new noise to my ears, albeit a welcome one. Channelling a dirgy, hypnotising psychedelic fuzz that spellbound even the most tired of onlookers after their packed day of music. Being one of the last acts of the festival, they had their work cut out for them, but with such a unique, incensing collection of songs they easily wowed, leaving us wishing we weren’t this close to the end. (CPI)

 

THE AMAZING SNAKEHEADS
Clwb Ifor Bach
Had somehow acquired the notion that Dim Swn was going to be, predominantly, for the younger gig-goers; much of the lineup bore this out, in that it had a bunch of bands I’d never really heard of. It also had The Amazing Snakeheads, a Glaswegian band who put out an entertaining debut album in the spring. As Clwb Ifor Bach fills up, it seems they attract a more mature audience:  maybe not old enough to have seen their likely influences (The Cramps, The Gun Club, The Birthday Party) play live, but old enough to have been born. With Snakeheads frontman Dale Barclay topless and scowling – he’s the band’s sole guitarist, but goes long periods without striking his instrument – there’s a lot of ham about this trio’s performance, but it’s ham that the crowd eat up. The choice cuts from their album (I’m A Vampire; Where Is My Knife?; Nighttime) are all delivered; Barclay struts through the middle of the crowd like a properly Scottish Angus Young. It’s only when he looks up, during the intro to Here It Comes Again, and sees a middle-aged woman dancing on a table that the grumpy mask slips, and he affords himself a wee chuckle. (NG)

 

words NOEL GARDNER / CHARLIE PIERCEY photos SIMON AYRE