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It appears to be a night of breakages at Proud Galleries. The first to go are New Year’s resolutions to avoid alcohol for the month of January. The argument that a vodka and coke isn’t really alcohol as it is mostly Coke and ice doesn’t hold firm with us. Next on the breakage list is the G string (insert your own gag here) on the guitar of Anechoic's lead singer Rob Leach during what is a rather calamitous opening song through no fault of their own. This coupled with speaker problems, causing a horrific crackle like listening to the radio in the bottom of a valley, lead to a five minute pause in the action which the band hold together with ease, discussing the previous nights Soapstar Superstar with the crowd. After these early hiccups they recovered well to play a strong set that draws favourable comparisons to Elbow. Well worth keeping an eye on.
After battling through a packed Proud to get to the small stage area in time for local band Blondelle, they deliver a set which was worth the effort. In the breakages department drummer Mike smashes through a snare which threatens to lead to an early finish before a replacement is found. ‘Wonder’ and ‘The English Way’ capture a sound that is synonymous with the North London music scene and sits well alongside The Holloways, Larrikin Love and The Cavaliers. A forthcoming European tour taking in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy will deservedly take their sound further than a NW postcode.
Headline act Keith have possibly the blandest name in music. When asked why this was frontman Oli Bayston states “it’s more a question of why the fuck not?” Not an answer that you can put much of an argument against really. Except maybe it doesn’t make you want to listen to them, which for a band is a major stumbling block. It is also hard to choose a genre and make its stick as their sound fluctuates between The Smiths influenced melancholy, The Beta Band and New Order. It’s this changing style which is both the appeal and problem with Keith. ‘Hold That Gun’ is an uplifting pop number, ‘You’ has a more melodramatic rock tinge whilst ‘Unsold Thoughts’ is a haunting anthem. Whilst pulling it off without self-satisfied smugness, it is this diversity that you feel has held them back. That and the fact they are called Keith. Debut album ‘The Red Thread’ failed to make much of a commercial impact despite critical acclaim
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One of the highlights of their set is a fantastic cover of label mate Sebastien Tellier’s beautiful and inspiring 'La Ritournelle' which is a brave move considering the near perfection of the original. On the breakages front not wanting to be upstaged a few guitar strings are snapped and this causes more delays. Keith close out with ‘Mona Lisa’ Child’ which is undoubtedly their strongest song. It gets women dancing and men smiling. Their penchant for building up to a crescendo remains the constant theme yet with this track its use is fully justified. Whilst changing the audience’s mood to appreciative with this song you get the feeling they would struggle to do so at a larger venue. Which in short is 250 words to say that they were ok.
