Crud World Domination Enterprises give you
Soft Hearted Scientists
Lone Pine
The Room Orchestra
CLWB IFOR BACH, Cardiff
Reviewed by Guy Salvador
Tonight’s gig is in
the downstairs room @ Clwb Ifor Bach, I think one of the first times its been
used for a gig for a while & was opened by, The “Room Orchestra”, or to be
more specific, Paul & Spence from the band.
Apparently there are hundreds more “Room Orchestra” people & if they
all play as well as these 2 guys I bet they are worth seeing. Alternating guitars & keyboards between
them the sound is definitely jazzy, sounding like the first “Everything but the
Girl” album “Eden” at times. Looking at
their website: http://www.theroomorchestra.co.uk
The band have a
couple of albums out & get decent radio play & were enjoyed by the
unfortunately sparse early evening crowd.
I will definitely try to catch the full “Room Orchestra” experience very
soon. Next up was some rootsy, country
tinged rock 'n' roll, from “Lone Pine”.
The clwb had filled up a fair bit by the time this band hit the stage,
or rather the area of floor designated for the bands to play on, no stage. Their sound is more what you would expect to
bump into in a mid west bar in the States than a band knocking around Cardiff
but, it’s all about variety I suppose.
The obvious American feel to the band is also backed up with the sound
of the early Stones & the guitar work of Wilco Johnson. Not really my cup of tea but, well delivered
& enjoyed by the majority of people here tonight. If you like your Rock n Roll served up this
way check em out @:
Tonight’s headliners
“Soft Hearted Scientists” come as a bit of a mystery. Their debut CD “Uncanny Tales From The
Everyday Undergrowth” has not been out of my CD player in the car for the last
month. A dreamland of an album that is
really not of this world & never ceases to get a smile to my face,
particularly after a hard day at my place of toil. So, it was with intrigue & expectation
that I had come along tonight. I had
learned enough about the band to know that this was only their second gig, with
the other being at the Green Man festival in the summer. The scene was set for a great gig with the
clwb, by now busting with people. The
band took to their stools, which, in itself didn’t surprise me as their music
is primarily folk & lyrically there are tales of mysterious creatures &
family, expected hippies to be honest!
Are they hippies? Not sure really
but, this, I am sure is not the best the guys can put across live. Firstly, It was a very, very, short set which
didn’t really cut. Hard to put a finger
on why this was the case, maybe the venue wasn’t right, maybe the band weren’t
right, maybe they need to rehearse more?
Maybe this music doesn’t work live.
Not really sure, there was something missing. Soundwise as I mentioned earlier, it’s folk
& sometimes its sea shanty’s & I suppose this is maybe the essence of
why it didn’t work for me live tonight.
When I put the CD in the player I can imagine I am in this dreamworld
that the “Soft Hearted Scientists” have created on their magical album. The reality of tonight is that I’m in a hot
sweaty Clwb Ifor Bach with the people around me making nearly as much noise as
the band, therefore, none of the subtleties or the stories come across. A challenge for the band is to get over
this. With more effort I am sure they
can do this. I will definitely see them
again, as I, as I am sure you have gathered, love their album!
http://www.softheartedscientists.com
All the best
Guy Salvador
www.southerndownrecords.co.uk
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