Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
Thurs 24 Nov
words JAMES W ROBERTS
★★★★☆
Ten years ago, Josh T Pearson was fronting a band called Lift To Experience. They sounded like scorched earth, released one album called The Texas Jerusalem Crossroads and our imposing Texan hero was often seen sporting a Stetson and a t-shirt with the legend ‘My State Is Bigger Than Your Country’ emblazoned on it. In 2011, things have changed.
Pearson’s album has been given the stamp of approval by the ATP clan and related indie drones, partially explaining a sold-out Clwb looking at a man with a ‘y’all drawl’, a huge beard and an acoustic guitar. Tonight, Clwb is treated to a mixture of murder ballads with a transcendental L. Cohen-esque jangle and shimmer, a mixture of hushed silence and raucous strumming – and a more than healthy dose of stand up comedy.
“What do you all a musician that has been ditched by his girlfriend? Homeless. What’s got two thumbs and loves blow jobs? [gives the thumbs-up sign] Me.” That second one is a hatchet job on a far superior joke by Viz’s man of the people, Sid The Sexist. And on it goes: it’s charming, self-deprecating and adds a weird lightness to his incredibly long songs that go on for days peaking and troughing. It’s admirable, but somehow weirdly aggressive. Like a sleepy bear. When it’s quiet, boy is it quiet. Despite the comic turns and laughter, the humming of the beer taps and the venue’s electricity buzzes through the wires and adds a rather nice frisson to the stripped-down proceedings.
Pearson seemingly only plays about two songs, so glacial and slow burning are they. The shimmering Sweetheart I Ain’t Your Christ exudes emotional punch and a genuine catharsis that cuts through the intense gaze of the packed floor. Woman, When I’ve Raised Hell and Country Dumb drift and sail beautifully, hinting that Pearson is at home in a big venue as much as in your garden shed. Intriguingly, he promises to return with a full band. In the meantime, listen to The Texas Jerusalem Crossroads and play it loud.
