Issue 72 / November 2016

36
Bido Lito! November 2016 Reviews
FLOATING POINTS
Blehrin – Melodic Distraction
ENRG01 @ Invisible Wind Factory
It doesn’t feel like a rave. It feels like a party,
a party thrown by that one cool supervisor for
their co-workers. The turbines are rotating
in time with the hi-hat. Somebody takes the
stool from next to me, and the sound of its legs
scraping on the floor lines up perfectly with a
conga break from MELODIC DISTRACTION. It
isn’t quite rammed yet, but they don’t tone
down their sound for the distinct after-work
drinks vibe (or is it just me?). It’s a wonderfully
mixed crowd: Kazimier once-regulars in the
yellow spotlight, kids who’ve strayed off the
beaten path (from Concert Square) in the
purple, and aging clubbers where the two
meet.
The next set is very liberal with the
saxophone solos. Now, that could be levelled
as a criticism at some, but it just bounces
off BLEHRIN. His set is dreamier and less
melodically distracting. When he rolls the
treble back, he could appear self-absorbed
and distant, but it’s just the care and precision
he takes at the decks. It’s appropriate given
how meticulous FLOATING POINTS’ approach
to his music is.
Don’t let his scientific background fool
you – Sam Shephed’s ear for a sample is so
intuitive, even the oddest choices end up
being so persuasive; there’s no way he could
have layered them any differently. Wriggling
orchestral synths? Worth a shot. Sticking Bill
Withers’ (first album, first track) Harlem over
it? That’s a push. How does it work, and how
does the electronica stay intact? It might turn
out to be genius. Might. He’s not afraid to shut
down completely to ease in a new sound, a
stunt Blehrin pulled earlier, but with Shepherd
picking the records, it’s usually some luxurious
synth, and even when that crescendo turns out
to be a horn section and glitterball vocals, the
umbilicus has long since been cut – it simply
ain’t disco anymore.
Vintage Wedding Wear
162 Seabank Road
New Brighton
CH45 1HG
@love.saves.the.day
lovesavesthedayvintage
All night long, the stewards wear tabards of
pulsating lights, the Vegas incarnation of the
Queen of Hearts’ guard. One of them grabs a
small metal box with knobs and a green LED
display and rushes off with it. What does it do
and what does he need it for?
Stuart Miles O’Hara / @ohasm1
RODDY WOOMBLE
Ceremony Concerts @
Philharmonic Music Room
It must be a simultaneously liberating
and daunting feeling to step away from the
supportive atmosphere of working as part
Roddy Woomble (Stuart Moulding / @oohshootstu)
of a whole and strike your own chord as an beautiful, lilting passages. These songs speak
individual performer. So it was for RODDY of community, of self, and of the landscapes
WOOMBLE in 2006 when he left the comfort that shaped the writer, this resident of the
zone of Idlewild to record his solo debut Western Isles.
album My Secret Is My Silence. Released with As a frontman, Roddy Woomble displays
an abject lack of anything that could be even a shy but captivating charm, choosing to
remotely described as promotion, the album perform side on, and standing at the side of
found its way in the world more despite the stage when not singing, letting the music
Woomble than because of him. The intervening take the focus. It’s an endearing quality to his
10 years have seen this collection of enigmatic performance, and proves the value he places
and evocative Scottish folk songs grow in the on collaboration and engagement. The band
hearts of its listeners and take its place as one tonight are faultless, as is the sound in The
of the most important records of its time, its Music Room, with only the addition of Hannah
roots, and its country.
Fisher’s violin to lend the folk edge; it’s a
To celebrate the 10-year anniversary, grittier, rockier sound than we’d anticipated.
Woomble took to the road to perform the If I Could Name Any Name is another highlight,
album in its entirety to packed houses up and a frail and pretty ballad, and another moment
down the country. And we mean ‘up and down where Woomble’s lyrical insight is held up to
the country’. On his way to Liverpool from the the much-deserved light, as rich in intent as it
previous night’s show in Norwich, somebody is in its delivery. Waverley Steps – written about
decided to close the M6, meaning a late arrival Woomble finding himself living in Greenwich
of the band for us, and a nightmare nine-and-ahalf-hour
journey for them. Well, we’ve waited Edinburgh skyline and its people – sees him
Village, a dream in itself, but yearning for the
10 years to hear these songs live, another in eyes closed contemplation, honing in on
couple of minutes won’t hurt. And obviously, that other time, that place, giving depth to his
as it turns out, it’s more than worth the wait. passion for both places, and the part they’ve
There’s a warm, engaging quality to this played in getting him to this point.
collection of songs, as there is too much He mentions the lack of fanfare that this
of his work, and the rich, cracked timbre of album received on its release, and he’s right
Woomble’s voice carries the images across that it’s by no means polished, it has its flaws,
the landscapes he describes. From the prosaic but tonight in The Music Room, Roddy Woomble
fragile introspection of the opening song I is relieved that the songs are finally getting the
Came In From The Mountain, we’re reminded of live treatment and the warm welcome they’ve
his skill in delivering these images, his innate so richly deserved for such a long time.
talent for phrasing his doubts and fears into
Paul Fitzgerald / @NothingvilleM