Review: The School @ Buffalo

The Hipsterville of Buffalo played host to a subdued evening of twee last Thursday.

Twee, the proper indie music to those in anoraks has never fully disappeared since its birth in the early 80s as the unlikeliest of off-shoots from post-punk. But its standing in the media and public consciousness is higher now than it has been for some time, as Twee’s innocence and childlike mannerisms appears to chime with a collective desire for nostalgia as a balm for problems and crises beyond our control.

With this in mind, Plus One Lou and I entered the blood red, close venue to be met with the electric twiddle of Colorama. One man and his amplified guitar, Colorama peddles a pastoral, introspective sound with Clinton Cards lyrics. Plus One Lou opined that the material he sang in Welsh was far stronger and I was inclined to agree as the indecipherable is often preferable to the indescribable.

If Colorama was cheese then Them Squirrels was chalk. Comprising a screeching guitar, a rather battered double bass, drums and numerous electronics spilled across the stage floor, Them Squirrels' set up screamed-whispered-screamed unorthodoxy. To pin down their sound would be futile, with tracks more like suites, with several passages and tempo shifts, quite bits and loud bits, parts with tunes and others of simple noise. It was wilfully difficult. Plus One Lou expected them to rip open their chests and write “THIS IS ART-PROG” with their blood spraying on the projector screen. I found them interesting yet dull at the same time, like staring at a field of black grass for an hour.

Moofish Catfish came on stage with the look of a band on their final date of a summer tour around the UK’s toilet circuit before handing back to Sweden and by Jove that is exactly what they were. I scribbled down grungy Black Kids which occasionally hit indie-disco pay dirt. I wanted to like them more.

And finally it was time for The School. Ticking every twee box, from coy girl-next-door lead to a xylophone, cardigans to a violin, it was possible to envisage the set before they played a note. And the sense of hearing it all before was there alive and well. That’s not necessarily to say it was a poor show it just seems that The School were too in awe of their influences to deviate or as Plus One Lou put it “…a serious Belle & Sebastian rip-off”. It was all very pleasant, jaunty and shuffling, tumbling and cute but lacked the punch of say the news of Michael Jackson’s death, which spread around the room towards the end of the set and overshadowed the evening.

Cultural Tourism

The glorious regression to the 80s continues with the appropriation of "World Music" into popular music. Just as Peter Gabriel and David Byrne utilised beats and pieces from around the world so have Vampire Weekend and MIA in recent years.

There has also been a splurge of compliations such as "African Scream Contest" and"Nigeria Disco Funk Special: The Sound of the Undeground Lagos Dancefloor 1974-1979" that seem to smack of smug cultural tourism, more interested in the obscurity of the music and the tales behind the tunes rather than the sounds.

But if we scrape away the pretensions (which I am never a fan of, as I heart pretensions) and listen to some of the tracks they actually turn out to be well ruddy good, such as this slab of Ethiopian jazz-funk from the 1960s.

mp3---> Alemayehu Eshete - Tey Geryeleshem (via box.net)

14 Songs Put Together By Someone Else Which Sums Up Summer Pretty Much

A quick heads up about Gorilla vs Bear's Summer 09 mix which is a rather lovely, summery, lo-fi, Africana, Tropicana, Brooklyn vibe kind of thing. Works rather well when played in sunshine.

EDIT: This was originally published in

Red Skin and Cider

As this short burst of summer inevitably comes to a halt on the weekend (just in time for my holiday), I feel I should post the track that has been soundtracking my strolls around the capital and indeed my first ever wee on a local train.

[Right click and "Download Document" to get an mp3 of Senor Coconut's Around The World)

The Big Weekend

I heart the Big Weekend. If you're unaware it's a three day free music event on the lawn of Cardiff City Hall. It also usually coincides with my birthday.

The music tends to split along taste lines over the three days. Friday is local. Saturday is worldy and quite Birkenstock. Sunday is the business. Last year saw The Young Knives (ace), Ash (meh) and Glasvegas (balls).

This Sunday 2nd August will be headlined by The Zutons, but further down the bill comes the more intriguing proposition of Camera Obscura (just confirmed for Green Man too) and Ebony Bones.

The Lightning Seeds are also playing. Look it's free alright.

mp3---> Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken (via box.net)