Issue 90 / July 2018

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REVIEWS Phoebe Bridgers (Stu Moulding / @oohshootstu) “Her songs are a confession of guilty obsessions and troubling thoughts, tied together with delicate charm” Phoebe Bridgers Harvest Sun @ Leaf – 22/05 PHOEBE BRIDGERS’ Stranger In The Alps, released back September 2017, was a beautiful, pained and delicate representation of love and loss. It landed in many people’s albums of the year lists and Bridgers was tipped by many as the next singer-songwriter giant to come out of the States, admired by critics and musicians alike. As a result there is a sense of anticipation about this opportunity to see an artist at the beginning of their ascent. The gentle glow from the loosely draped fairy lights around Leaf’s stage offer a contrast to Bridgers’ and her band’s black attire. Aided by a violinist and her regular touring companions, Marshall Vore on drums and Harrison Whitford on guitar, Bridgers appears muted and refrained as she softly plucks the first notes of the airy, captivatingly sombre Smoke Signals on her acoustic guitar. A deathly silence falls over the crowd, something I’ve not heard for a while at a Liverpool show; all ears are drawn in by her light, enchanting vocals and eyes are transfixed on the stage. The solemn air continues with Bridgers’ next track, Funeral, of which the first line painfully cuts in with “I’m singing at funeral tomorrow/For a kid a year older than me”. The song swells with a deep intensity, in parts inflated by a delicate violin and strained distorted guitar notes as her lyrics build to challenge different perspectives on loneliness and self-pity. Bridgers then breaks the silence, easing the atmosphere considerably, as she describes an unfortunate encounter with an overzealous tap in the venue’s bathroom. “During that whole song I couldn’t stop thinking about how wet my face was.” From here on in, she appears bright and couldn’t be any further removed from the character that she portrays in her songs; she’s able to convey the bitterness of loneliness while evoking an aura that is far removed from isolation and solitude. Her songs are a confession of guilty obsessions and troubling thoughts, but she ties them together with a delicate charm and an endearing humour. Motion Sickness, the most popular single from the album, brings with it the most poignant moment of the night. Bridgers prefaces the song by telling us that it’s about a past idol that she now “hates”. It is perhaps the best example of her vocal strength, too; she regularly displays a breathy falsetto, demonstrating a Phoebe Bridgers (Stu Moulding / @oohshootstu) gentle range with seamless control, but on Motion Sickness it takes on another quality. The end of the song rises to a breaking crescendo, as her voice and the band ascend to an explosive release of energy and emotion. Her demanding touring schedule over the last 18 months is fully reflected in the strength of her live performance. It’s not uncommon to witness breakthrough acts offer a disappointing live display on their first headline tour, but everything Bridgers brings tonight adds to the growing consensus that she has all the components to sit comfortably in the ranks of the great American singer-songwriters. ! Jonny Winship / @jmwinship 36
Car Seat Headrest (Kevin Barrett / @Kev_Barrett) Car Seat Headrest Harvest Sun @ Invisible Wind Factory – 19/05 Amid the confusing, gratuitous joviality that comes with a Royal wedding and the blinding optimism that breeds with the transition that into warmer seasons, there’s always room for self-deprecation and anxious cuts of heartache, desire and mental see-sawing. The vehicle for this, tonight, is Will Toledo’s band CAR SEAT HEADREST, as they arrive at the Invisible Wind Factory for the Liverpool leg of their European tour. The tour follows a re-recording of Twin Fantasy, an album originally released seven years ago, in what looked like a confusing creative choice after the critical triumph of 2016’s Teens Of Denial. This time round, Twin Fantasy boasts a well-rounded, refined production in contrast to the lo-fi bedroom recording of the original. However, it still carries the authenticity and rawness that’s evoked in the joys and pains of teenage angst. The room is packed tonight with new and old fans of Toledo’s music and the front is a centrifuge of energy, as the band deliver the sharp, decisive sound of one of the most up-beat tracks from Twin Fantasy, Body’s, which has Toldeo, arched and running on the spot, creating an infectious aura of self-release. (Joe Gets Kicked Out Of School For Using) Drugs With Friends (But Gerry Cinnamon + Dylan John Thomas Harvest Sun @ O2 Academy – 19/05 The streets of Liverpool ring with chants from shirtless fans to the tune of KC and the Sunshine Band’s Give it Up ahead of tonight’s main attraction, GERRY CINNAMON. With Saltires raised from a loyal contingent and, with spirits high, it is clear that tonight we are in for a rowdy one. Off the back of his album Erratic Cinematic, released in September last year, the Glaswegian-born artist has had a short but very direct route to becoming one of Britain’s most exciting prospects. Supporting the likes of John Power and Ocean Colour Scene, as well as booking a return to this year’s TRNSMT festival, Cinnamon has seen his efforts recognised by wider audiences and a huge growth in popularity. Through the doors and into the blue-lit sanctum of the Academy, support act DYLAN JOHN THOMAS warms up the crowd with a confident rendition of The Stone Roses’ classic Waterfall and sets the scene for a nostalgic singalong accompanied by a luscious head of afro hair and a smart Fred Perry tracksuit. After thanking the crowd, Thomas moves off the stage and the wait begins. Not a single moment passes where the air is not filled with football ground chants for the fans’ main man as the anticipation builds to a point of near explosion. On walks Gerry Cinnamon with flat cap in hand, with every ounce of humble and appreciative feeling towards the support this assembly have given him. Moving through the set, Belter receives the most raucous of Says This Isn’t A Problem) gifts the crowd with their first taste of anthemic catharsis; the song is also an excellent showcase of Toldeo’s songwriting ability, incorporating an earnest accessibility with an off-hand, wry sense of humour. The set takes a slight inhale as the band embark on a cover of Frank Ocean’s White Ferrari, it makes for a pleasant transition in to the melancholic Twin Fantasy (Those Boys), which builds to a soothing crescendo, although its somewhat ignored and muffled by the crowd’s mumbled chatter. The performance is punctuated by Toldeo and the band’s sharp wit and freedom on stage; they’re able to carry the emotion of the songs in a way that encourages a togetherness and a carefree emancipation around the room. The encore features the haunting, yet melodic and touching Sober To Death, which again touches on the themes of mental health, loneliness and relationships, giving the crowd the last opportunity for an impassioned singalong. The set concludes with the 13-minutelong Beach Life-In-Death, which could be deemed self-indulgent, but at this point I have to admit my surprise at their ability to lift a crowd and keep them there with songs laden with such dark subjects. But this is to underestimate the cleverness of Toldeo’s song writing and the ability of the band to crash through the songs, with vigour and angst, while being able to produce a refined sound; a fine example of what a lot of modern-day rock bands are missing. Jonny Winship / @jmwinship responses as Cinnamon tells the Liverpool crowd that this one is about “ma wee missus”. With soul-bearing lyrics such as “She dances in my dreams, reminds me that the world is not as evil as it seems”, an insight into a bigger picture of the current state of things outside the venue shared by all involved. Halfway through this energetic and politically charged performance, Cinnamon stops to thank the fans for their continued support and dedicates all of his efforts to any young and aspiring musicians. In his broad Glaswegian accent he says; “Don’t let anyone get you down, if you can do it with a heartbeat and no band, you can do whatever the fuck you want!” With this powerful and inspiring message resonating around the room, everyone is fuelled and the mood turns electric. The walls cannot contain this one-man assault on modern times and its conventions as Cinnamon works through other huge favourites Sometimes and Diamonds In The Mud, which give us an intimate look into his modest roots and how he holds them accountable even as fame presents itself. After closing on a stripped-down version of I Wanna Be Adored, the masses snap out of their trancelike state to roar their relentless support for their Scottish ringleader and the buzz that remains courses through each individual as they exit. There does not seem to be a limit to the potential here as Cinnamon seems genuinely grounded and thankful for the position he finds himself in. He provides an example of why financial backing isn’t always necessary for success in a commercialised music industry and that, even without a label, the very highest quality in delivery and songwriting still exists. With an instantly identifiable appearance and an honest perception on social commentary it is hard to resist the charm and, based on this admirable and unapologetic performance, I’m sure we will be hearing more from this potent lyricist. Jake Penn / @p3nno Benjamin Zephaniah WoWFest18 @ Philharmonic Hall – 20/05 Rastafarian wordsmith BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH is in Liverpool tonight in support of his memoir, The Life And Rhymes Of Benjamin Zephaniah, but the event isn’t a simple history and a few readings. Zephaniah is a performer, so he performs, taking us on a journey through excerpts from his life interspersed with poems, with WowFest18’s theme of Crossing Borders at its core. He begins with his mother, who saw a poster encouraging West Indians to come to Britain to live and work (I Love Me Mudder). He returns to the theme of the Windrush generation often, focusing on national events both past and present, and includes racist incidents from his own life, starting with being picked as cricket team captain at primary school when he hadn’t ever played the game and doesn’t like it (“really slow and reminds me of colonialism” – a witty observation that really hits home: no Lara, Lloyd, Sobers et al without colonialism?), and the racism to which he is now, after the 2016 referendum, being subjected for the first time since the 70s. More challenging of the orthodoxy comes as he observes that secondary school taught him that Christopher Columbus “discovered” black people. He mentions that he was expelled from a few schools, with one teacher telling him he’d end up dead or serving a life sentence – words which eventually propelled him out of his bed and Birmingham hometown. He skates over the life he was leading – but it’s detailed in the book – merely stating that he left one ‘gang’ for another (London’s artistic community). After Us An Dem, and some shocking statistics on child poverty, illiteracy, women’s status and more, he returns to his mother’s decision to come to Britain and the repercussions this decision is having for the many who made it – and their descendants. Even people born here feel unsafe: “We don’t know what our final solution is going to be yet.” He’s been on planes carrying people who are being extradited, so he knows about what he speaks, and in The Death Of Joy Gardner observes: “She’s illegal, so deport her/Said the Empire that brought her”, words which, sadly, have a chilling pertinence today. After a mood-lightening foray into veganism, travel broadening the mind, India’s sadhus and more, the performance part of the evening ends and it’s time for the Q&A. Asked about Rastafarianism and weed, he explains that marijuana is a holy herb for Rastafarians, not a drug, but that he has liberated himself from both religion and weed via meditation: “I’ve learned to get high from breathing” – good advice for us all. After Talking Turkeys, the night is over, but lines from Rong Radio Station linger during the walk home: “I was beginning not to trust me, in fact, I wanted to arrest me/I’ve been listening to the wrong radio station”, with their implication that we can re-tune that radio station to a more positive one. Turn on, tune in… activate. Debra Williams / @wordsanddeeds1 REVIEWS 37
Page 1 and 2: ISSUE 90 / JULY 2018 NEW MUSIC + CR
Page 4 and 5: What’s On July - October Tuesday
Page 7: CONTENTS New Music + Creative Cultu
Page 10 and 11: NEWS Sound Station On New Track MER
Page 12 and 13: 12
Page 14 and 15: THE DSM IV “It’s good to confro
Page 16 and 17: 16 Three decades ago the grand old
Page 18: BAR OF THE YEAR 2018 LIVERPOOL TOUR
Page 21 and 22: THE EARTH trying to please everyone
Page 24 and 25: LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTI
Page 26 and 27: UPCOMING EVENTS Become a Bido Lito!
Page 28 and 29: Degree places available for Septemb
Page 30 and 31: SPOTLIGHT REMY JUDE A social commen
Page 32 and 33: PREVIEWS “Be completely open and
Page 34 and 35: PREVIEWS GIG Dauwd The Reeds - 07/0
Page 38 and 39: REVIEWS The Mysterines (Hannah John
Page 40 and 41: REVIEWS Charles Howl (Kevin Barrett
Page 42 and 43: BOOK NOW: 0161 832 1111 MANchestera
Page 44 and 45: Proud supporters of Merseyrail Soun
Page 46 and 47: SAY THE FINAL “The energy coming
Page 48: THEWAREHOUSEPROJECT.COM

Issue 90 / July 2018

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