Sunday 01/05/05 Triptych 05 - Aberfeldy, King Creosote, My Latest Novel @ The Tunnels, Aberdeen

There's three bands on the line-up for tonight, and you can tell from the off that it’s not going to be an ordinary night by the instruments on array: two xylophones, two harmonicas, four keyboards, two violins, an accordion, a melodica, lots of soulful finger clicking, and erm.. a singer making trumpet noises…. My Latest Novel are the first to play, a Greenock-based band who are visibly giddy from being signed to Bella Union earlier in the week. The Tunnels is already swollen near bursting point when their set begins, and their songs are all sweet and mostly a bit tragic, but there are definite upbeat moments too, especially in the newer songs. The violinist speaks over some tracks, and the vocal layers created are beautiful. They’re definitely a band on the verge of something big, and there’s plenty of talent in their short set.

 

Continuing the certain folk theme, King Creosote take to the stage. Led by frontman Kenny Anderson and an accordion (that’s right, it’s not just here for one song you know), the band launch themselves into an entertaining set which feels as though it only lasts for a few minutes. It’s rare that King Creosote play a gig without another band from Anderson’s “Fence Collective”, but they slot perfectly into the middle of tonight’s line-up, being an odd and engaging mixture of My Latest Novel’s soft melodies, and Aberfeldy’s boundless energy and enthusiasm. 

 

The final band tonight is Aberfeldy, who look like a university's chess club, but are totally entertaining. Not only are the songs so strange and fun that no matter how many drugs you’re on, you’ll feel you need more to understand what’s going on, but the onstage banter from singer Riley Briggs is fantastic. “Ah, it sounds like a banjo” he grumbles whilst tuning up his guitar, then on succeeding “That’s better, now it sounds like Pink Floyd”. He’s also got the heckling under control, “Come on you ****. Is that the best you can do? Is anyone going to raise me a **** off?!”. Previous single 'Heliopolis By Night' is a perfect piece of fun, great-sounding music which basically guarantees to make you dance like an idiot. To summarise the experience, there's at least one song that sounds like being on the Magic Roundabout with Dougal, a possessed electric keyboard and a man playing the trumpet. With no trumpet. Is this the sound of psychedelia making a return? Based on Aberfeldy’s performance, let’s hope so.