SCARLET SAILS | LIVE REVIEW
Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, Wed 7 Nov
Brian Viglione, who might be better known as one half of The Dresden Dolls, formed his current band Scarlet Sails with his wife Olya. The band’s first ever UK tour included Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach, but either there aren’t many Dresden Dolls fans in south Wales, or Scarlet Sails are yet to build up their own audience.
The crowd was in single figures when the first support, Jemma Roper, came onstage. Any band that uses a cowbell is okay with me; I just felt bad for this Cardiff band to be playing to an empty room. There was no sign of it filling up by the time Think Pretty came on, either, though the relentless drum-and-guitar duo showed their punk rock credentials by covering Against Me’s Black Me Out. People started to trickle in, but by the time Scarlet Sails came on there still wasn’t even 20 of us in the audience.
Let’s get the Dresden Dolls comparisons out of the way first. For want of a better word, Scarlet Sails’ indie-rock style of music is more accessible than the Dolls’ cabaret punk. While Viglione is the better known of the band, Sails are led by a charismatic frontwoman. Olya Viglione’s voice has been compared to Bob Dylan and Stevie Nicks, although she has more in common with Brian Molko, Dan Bejar and John Cameron Mitchell in Hedwig (And The Angry Inch); there’s an androgynous quality to Olya’s voice. She has her own style, mind – a slightly bluesy one you’d be forgiven for imagining was the product of cigarettes and Russian vodka.
Coming on to the stage in a bright pink dress that looked like one of Grayson Perry’s ceramic pots, watching Olya perform was captivating, bot for her looks and her sense of fun – Scarlet Sails is what it might be like if Cate Blanchett fronted a rock band. Olya is also a classically trained pianist, many the songs on their debut album featuring beautiful piano that compliments Brian’s drumming. It was disappointing that these skills weren’t showcased live.
The setlist featured mainly original songs, save for a cover of Blondie’s One Way Or Another. The band has been described as ‘genre bending’ and the epic Who Me traverses funk, punk and rock with blistering riffs. Brian leaves the drums for one song that’s almost a waltz, before finishing their set with I’ll Be There, a ballad about the light in the darkness. I’m glad I saw this band, and I hope more people see them too.
words and photos CHRIS WILLIAMS