YELLOW OSTRICH | LIVE REVIEW

Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, Wed 7 May

Almost every article I’ve read about Yellow Ostrich describes them as an ‘experimental’ band. I think this might be lazy music journalist speak for ‘they use electronics and stuff’. Their music certainly isn’t the sort of atonal soundscapes that get featured in the pages of Wire magazine and which springs to mind whenever I hear the adjective ‘experimental’ applied to bands. I mean, they have tunes and guitars and everything.

Speaking of lazy music journalism, let’s get the comparisons out of the way at the start: Yellow Ostrich sit somewhere between the icy electronic beauty of Caribou and the wailing intensity of Wild Beasts. They have the bedrock of guitars and traditional song structures, but there’s enough going on here to give them a distinctive sound. Alex Schaaf’s keening voice is the main attraction here, combined with enigmatic lyrics that point towards a turmoil not evidenced by his placid exterior.

In terms of audience interaction they’re not the most engaging of bands, but their ‘dress down Friday’ sartorial approach contrasts nicely with support band Palomino Party’s Adam Ant-styled theatrics, and the focus here is on intricately constructed songs played with a technical skill that nods towards prog, without ever tipping over into a full-on Rush style 27/16 freakout.

Towards the end of the set they unleash WHALE; on record it’s a perfectly enjoyable song, but live it is transformed into a structure of delicate sadness, like sunlight viewed from under water. The ghostly electronic drone throughout the song is the aural equivalent of the glow of a computer screen left on overnight in a darkened office.

The band finish with Marathon Runner and, as Schaaf sings “I am a marathon runner and my legs are sore, and I am anxious to find out what I am running for,” I find myself hoping that he doesn’t find out too soon, and keeps running for at least a little longer.

words DAVID GRIFFITHS