Young & Lost Club Tour: Noah and the Whale / Pull Tiger Tail / Naked and the Boys / Lord Auch
Date: 14 February 2008
"Gripped by the dreamy quality, only to be sent into folk ecstacy by violin riffs and shuffling drums"
Jahan Nazeer
It was a Monday night, and while most of London scurried and squeezed their way home from work, the ICA and Young & Lost Club had a real treat lined up for us music lovers: Noah and the Whale, Pull Tiger Tail, Naked and the Boys and Lord Auch. Once again, tickets were sold out and gradually the ICA corridors and bar filled up with eager music fans. We got a drink and headed into the main room where the Young & Lost DJs were warming things up nicely with electronic pop and 80s randomness. Having signed up to the mailing list and received a rather cool Young & Lost Club badge, we were ready for the first act.
Lord Auch are a three-piece band based in London. Their myspace page defines them as 'Melodramatic Popular Song' and their influences include Tom Waits and the Pogues. With the main room still filling up, Lord Auch began with simple, pounding drums, pulsating bass lines and angsty, aggressive vocals. Looking every bit the part, Si McCabe (lead vocals) postured and leered, often looking as if he was about to overbalance as he led the band through ska, punk, and I'm sure I detected some grunge influences in there too. An interesting band to open a night like tonight, I felt their sound (and attitude) would have worked better later on or in a smaller, sweatier venue, but nevertheless their 'in your face', no frills performance was well-enjoyed by the growing audience.
Next up, Naked and the Boys, a London-based three-piece band whose name brings up some interesting things when fed into Google! Immediately accessible, Jack Berkeley's clear vocals are accompanied by acoustic guitar, drums and double bass, a combination which works both musically and visually. Running through a enjoyable set, their intimacy encouraged the crowd to relax and take in some great lyrics. Folksy pop would be a way to describe them as they strummed out beautiful chord progressions and pleasing melodies, equally happy go lucky and thoughtful. All the material on show was of a high quality and could, one feels, pierce the mainstream. Their new single If You Find Love is a good representation of this band and is out on 3rd March so go check for that.
Pull Tiger Tail are an indie-rock band formed at Goldsmiths College in 2006. They have played alongside some of the biggest names on the scene including Razorlight and Kasabian. Tonight they ditched their normal electric sound in favour of an acoustic set. Opening with three guitars and stomps and claps for percussion, they drew the now maximum capacity crowd close to them. Blending and layering melodies and harmonies, the combination of three voices and three acoustic guitars sounded more traditional than their recordings but worked beautifully as the crowd delighted in the new acoustic versions of songs they were clearly already familiar with. I don't know if this was a one-off acoustic set or if they plan to perform like this more often, but it certainly gave a different insight into the material and went down very well on the night. Very talented guys!
Headlining tonight were, of course, Noah and the Whale, the five-piece, North London-based indie folksters. Arriving on the stage to cheers of support, the band set up in front of their projected artwork and started with a bang. Their infectious energy took charge of the crowd immediately with fast drumming, guitar, bass and violin and soon the ICA was stomping and clapping along. Relaxed banter between tunes kept the crowd on their toes as they brought the tempo down for some beautiful lyrics and sparse, delicate instrumentation. With a table-top accordion and xylophone alongside contrasting male and female voices, the ICA audience was gripped by the dreamy quality, only to be sent into folk ecstacy by violin riffs and shuffling drums. Then yet another treat, for the first time live, Noah and The Whale were joined by horns to perform Hold My Hand While I'm Lowered. Adding brass to the flutterings of their violin, made for a wonderful combination and had the ICA crowd clapping along, hands in the air. Aware of their audience, Noah and the Whale encouraged crowd participation with 'NOAH!... WHALE!' being the call and response chant echoing around the venue. Finishing their set with Rocks and Daggers they were called straight back for an encore, a Smiths cover that satisfied their raucous supporters and ended a brilliant night on a high.
Fantastic!
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