Issue 29 / Dec 2012/Jan 2013

36 Bido Lito! Dec 2012 / Jan 2013
Reviews
Hell Not Jesus. Looking extremely comfortable
on stage, as if he’s been doing this for his entire
life, his first song represents a bold approach
towards a slightly touchy issue. Stylistically, it
confirms the artist’s own refusal to be defined
as a part of a specific genre.
Love This – his most recent single – is a
more upbeat piece, highlighted by one of the
catchiest choruses that can be heard on the
current market. The echoing refrain, based on an
extremely danceable bassline, is shaping into a
genuine radio-friendly tune.
Assisted by two fellow musicians, Harry
Meads on percussion and Harry Mackaill on bass
and backing vocals, Jarvis carries on with what
seems to be a witty love declaration, ingeniously
interpreted in the form of a dulcet tune called
She Doesn’t Mind. The simple reggae-inspired
rhythm plucked on an electric guitar is mirrored
by the complexity of his creativity; it might take a
while for the audience to understand the actual
meaning behind the lyrical content. Conversely,
this is a song that brings a different substance
to his own style by mixing ska elements with
power pop that weirdly brings about an early
2000s Weezer, or Mando Diao sound.
However, the highlight of the night is the
appearance of Mad Dog Mcrea’s members onto
the stage for an ad-hoc jam which includes Gay
Pirates, the provocative song that probably
deserves its current hype. Demonstrating his
glowing ability for writing verses, Jarvis’ Gay
Pirates is in fact an observation of the ongoing
stereotypes as he makes an inspirational point
within existent social issues. Emphasized by
his grainy voice, this slice is based on multiple
build-ups and simple chord progressions played
on a mandolin.
Receiving public praise from the likes of
Brian Eno and Stephen Fry, Cosmo Jarvis still
has to pay the price for his unconventional
and uncompromising approach. Intelligent and
talented, he still lacks a certain something to go
mainstream.
CLOCK OPERA
Bright Light Bright Light
Petricia Mogos
Evol @ The Kazimier
London-based Welsh singer BRIGHT LIGHT
BRIGHT LIGHT is so bad that it’s almost
existential. Rod Thomas, the talent and pretty
face behind the name, comes across as quite
possibly the nicest man in music. Which makes
it all the more unfortunate that his particular
brand of outrageously clichéd dance pop, which
may as well be written from the pre-programmed
songs you get on a keyboard, is so karaoke it
actually causes wincing. To his credit though,
Thomas, along with his keys man and drummer,
actually do manage to get some of the more
lubricated in the crowd to loosen their limbs.
Clock Opera (Mike Brits)
While we can’t abide his pulsating Eurotrash, or
his X-Factor-style emphatic hand gesturing, he
gets full credit for coaxing a euphoric few into
a bonafide dance-off. At least they’re having fun.
This is where our revulsion turns philosophical –
has this man taken the concept of cheesy so far
that he’s actually reclaimed it?
And to sounds of ticking and tocking arrive
CLOCK OPERA, wound up and ready to go. Guy
Connelly, the driving force behind the band,
is nothing if not ambitious and, since having
fronted The Fallout Trust and The Corrections,
has also made a name for himself as a remixer
of the likes of The Drums, Feist and Everything
Everything. Clock Opera is a fully fledged fourpiece
now, with Connelly, who is luxuriant of
beard and hair, up the front whacking some kind
of electronic box with a drumstick and grooving
to his own beat.
There’s a lot going on here: experimental
percussion, samples, falsetto vocals and
above all crescendoing drama. At times there’s
a suggestion of Caribou, an occasional flash
of Afrobeat, and on track Man Made there’s a
bit of Talking Heads. But ultimately it adds up
to not a lot.
The excitable crowd are getting a bit stadium
rock as girls at the front are actually reaching
out to touch Connelly’s hand, but fan of the
evening award goes to Sergei, who we are
told has come all the way from Latvia tonight.
Single Once And For All is dedicated to him,
and is followed by similarly emptily anthemic
Belongings, but it’s not until evening highlight
Lesson No.7 that we start to think there might
be something interesting going on. What
so much of the time can sound overblown
somehow gels here - it’s dark, it’s powerful and
it’s a cracking tune. Alas, it may be their only
one, as encore Fail Better reminds us what they
ultimately are: uninteresting.
LAZY HABITS
Manukah
Jennifer Perkin
The Kazimier
I have goosebumps. A night of rap and jazz
fusion is imminent and I can imagine throngs
of people absorbing every brass-led beat LAZY
HABITS have to offer. So I’m surprised to see so
few turn up to see these wordsmiths in action. It
is Friday night, right?
Even the dim lights of the Kazimier can’t
hide the absence of the cult following this
band has acquired over the last five years. It’s
a real shame as this Hackney eight-piece hip
hop collective are something special, having
already smashed sets at Glastonbury and
Bestival, and big venues such as Shepherd’s
Bush Empire and KOKO. I can’t say I’m
Gig Guide and Ticket Shop live at www.bidolito.co.uk