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The Cesarians
Review by Helen Griffiths
A self-proclaimed fusion of blues, punk and burlesque – if your imagination can lend itself to such a hybrid, momentarily, then I promise you it works – The Cesarians brought the house down.
Stage B, who have an increasing reputation for hosting some interesting live music, was jammed with people standing on the stairs and dancing on the tables, craning to get a better look at the energetic set. The Cesarians are a quintet of consummate performers, comprising clarinet, trombone, keyboard, drums and a vocalist who does the odd turn on the harmonica. Their dexterity and showmanship are testament to the clearly excellent technical ability they all have. Strutting around, in ridiculously skinny jeans and a cravat, the lead singer has undeniable stage presence and adroitly whips the crowd up into a frenzy. The cool reserve of N16 was abandoned as people started dancing away and jostling for space.
The drama of the music, and a trademark style of fairly melancholic openings building to crescendos in the most unexpected places, is matched by an ability to pull off some lyrics that would fail a lesser band – ‘I am the volcano of love. Will you come and sail with me over the wild and raging sea?’ – and yet they work brilliantly and melodically. Jan Noble’s drum solos are something to behold, and the theatrical precision of the clarinet and trombone adds to the overall drama of the performance. The Cesarians have built a cult following in the area over the past year or so and are heading to Italy on a week-long tour. They’ll be back in N16 soon, and I absolutely recommend you experience them for yourselves.
Morning Bride:
Review by Richard Fontenoy
There were people in the audience of Morning Bride's debut gig at Ryan’s in June 2004 who asked if they had an album available, having being thoroughly brightened by the sound of Amity Dunn's angel-high, seductress-low voice. Two sold-out, self-released singles and three years of solid gigging later, they've delivered a finely-honed first album (recorded again by Ed Deegan of White Stripes and Holly Golightly fame), and every minute of the wait for this most pristine of groups to perfect their sound has made it worthwhile.
There are versions of favourite EP songs, with ‘Replica’ and ‘This Place Is No Place For Harbouring Angels’ brought into shimmering new life by the addition of Alexa Richardson's beauteous cello, while ‘Isabelline’, in particular, benefits from the bluesy punch of Pete Bennett's (of N16 legends Monkey Island and The Dublo) guitar. Familiar live songs like ‘Zero One Zero One’ are taken to new levels of January introspection and sadness, while newer tracks, like heartfelt love song ‘Faith Is Blind’ and a tear-stained ‘Stepping Out In Front Of Cars’, simultaneously thrill and sadden, like the last drops in the bottom of the glass when closing time is long gone.
Two tracks I particular showcase the Bride's poetic mastermind Mark Pearson's talent for crafting seductive songs which graft themselves to the listeners' souls. There can be no justice if ‘Time Delay’ isn't gracing a cinematic soundtrack before long, as it rises and falls while deftly charting the course of the heartache; but it's ‘Mother Hackney’ which gets sung out throatily as a breezy encore, a love/hate anthem for a borough which should treasure Morning Bride.
Lea Valley Delta Blues, released by Letterbox Records, is now available in good record shops, online and offline.
www.letterboxrecords.com
www.morningbride.co.uk
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