By
Kevin McGrath
Submitted On February 15, 2016
You could roll up to any Festival in the British Isles this year,
from the Green Man to Glastonbury, and you wouldn't find a better
line-up than the one that took to the stage tonight, at Merthyr's
stately RedHouse, for the penultimate leg of BBC Wales' inaugural
Horizons Tour.
An appreciative crowd was on hand to catch opening act Gabrielle Murphy, an eighteen year old singer / songwriter from Treherbert, who happens to be blessed with a beautifully solemn voice and a genuine talent for writing truthful love songs. Murphy has, quite justifiably, been earning plaudits from the critics in recent months for her exceptional single "Lockdown", a richly romantic slice of 21st Century R&B that has taken on the mantle of an instant classic, not least because of its heartfelt lyric - 'Don't you know that I will be right by your side till the world goes under. I hope that you don't cry still, just let your heart be filled with wonder'.
Introducing the track this evening, she readily admits to it being a personal favourite, but it's by no means the only memorable song in her hugely impressive set. "Sweetest Taste", which also appears on Murphy's Amy Wadge produced EP, is a case in point. A coruscating ballad, with a defiantly independent lyric - 'Baby, baby, baby, stop thinking 'bout yourself, you're nothing special, just another on my shelf'. Its remarkable intensity is reproduced live this evening to stunning effect.
Accompanied only by Calan's Sam Humphrys, on acoustic guitar, tonight's cleverly pared down arrangements provide the perfect setting for Murphy's wide-ranging alto, which is thrillingly in evidence on "Bad", her earliest composition, written at the tender age of 15. Other highlights include "Your Song", which neatly incorporates Rihanna's 2013 single, "Pour it Up", in its middle section and a deeply personal take on Frank Ocean's stateside hit, "Swim Good". Best of all, perhaps, is "Godspeed"; a raw, inflamed ballad, that just might be a future classic and is clear evidence of how quickly Gabrielle Murphy is progressing as a song-writer.
Between songs, Murphy is relaxed and humorous, and there was genuine warmth in her unselfconscious exchanges with the audience, particularly her light-hearted disagreement with her mother over their favourite song. What really made this a memorable gig, though, was the sudden awareness that you were watching not so much a young singer, learning her craft, but a truly rounded performer, a singer with conviction and passion, delivering a set of self-penned songs that struck right at your heart. These are dark songs, for sure, but tonight they lit up the RedHouse like a fireworks display on New Year's Eve!
Climbing Trees are, without doubt, their own worst enemy! Just how are they meant to follow up a debut album as truly wondrous as Hebron? With the band on leave of absence from Mwnci Studios, where they've been busy working on that "difficult second album", there's a chance, at long last, for devotees of the group to hear some long anticipated new material.
Appropriately then, the Trees open with a brace of post-Hebron songs. "Amber", it has to be said, has been trailed on the internet and radio for some time and is already an established part of the group's live set. It's followed though, by a startling new song, "Set in Stone", which, even on first hearing, feels to me like a vital addition to the band's repertoire. For the sublimely harmonious "River Home"; one of Hebron's many highlights, keyboard guru Matthew Frederick, bass player Colenso Jones, and drummer Jay Bennetts share the vocal duties with gifted singer Martin Webb, on what is, arguably, still the band's most affecting song to date.
Three brand new songs follow, with Matthew Frederick again to the fore on the soaring piano driven "Fall". Though it's "Lost", a song which Frederick only half-jokingly refers to as their "pop" song, which perhaps signposts the direction of travel the Trees are hoping to take on their forthcoming album. Its bolder sound certainly makes it a likely festival favourite of the future. The band wrapped up their excellent set with the glorious "Under the Lindens", a beautifully fragile song on record, that is somehow transformed tonight, making for a rousing, dynamic finale.
Living up to the exceptional promise of Hebron won't be at all easy, but the Trees proved tonight they have another cache of remarkable songs to their name. Their second album should be one of the musical highlights of 2015.
Houdini Dax are a band that simply exude confidence and self-belief and it soon becomes crystal clear why. Jack Butler (vocals), Owen Richards (bass) and Dave Newington (drums) each combine to make a consummate power-pop trio, and they deliver, as always, a no-holds barred, punchy set, of post baby boomer pop, brimming with truly memorable songs.
Opening with their current single, the ecstatically catchy Apple Tree, it's immediately obvious that this is a band that could sell a lot of records if they could just manage to pull off that rare trick of finding themselves in the right place at the right time. The following number, "Legs", is jaw droppingly good and boasts a seismic riff that Bo-Diddley or Keith Richards, in their heyday, would have been proud of. Live favourite, "Get your Goo On", pumps up the volume even further, with Jack Butler even managing to whip up enthusiastic levels of audience participation to compliment this obvious crowd pleaser.
It isn't all about gargantuan riffs though; the jocular "Struggling in the Sand" showcases the bands superior three-part harmonies and the groovy "Crackdance" has the knowing air of an exotic 60s TV theme, while the irreverent "Found Love at the Dole Office" is as stupendously catchy as it is funny; 'I found love in the dole office / couldn't get a job, but I got a kiss'.
Tonight's short set meant there was no room for sure-fire classics like " Our Boy Billy" and "Good old fashioned Maniac" but a raucous "Heaven's Gate" closed out another thumping set by the best guitar band in Britain.
An appreciative crowd was on hand to catch opening act Gabrielle Murphy, an eighteen year old singer / songwriter from Treherbert, who happens to be blessed with a beautifully solemn voice and a genuine talent for writing truthful love songs. Murphy has, quite justifiably, been earning plaudits from the critics in recent months for her exceptional single "Lockdown", a richly romantic slice of 21st Century R&B that has taken on the mantle of an instant classic, not least because of its heartfelt lyric - 'Don't you know that I will be right by your side till the world goes under. I hope that you don't cry still, just let your heart be filled with wonder'.
Introducing the track this evening, she readily admits to it being a personal favourite, but it's by no means the only memorable song in her hugely impressive set. "Sweetest Taste", which also appears on Murphy's Amy Wadge produced EP, is a case in point. A coruscating ballad, with a defiantly independent lyric - 'Baby, baby, baby, stop thinking 'bout yourself, you're nothing special, just another on my shelf'. Its remarkable intensity is reproduced live this evening to stunning effect.
Accompanied only by Calan's Sam Humphrys, on acoustic guitar, tonight's cleverly pared down arrangements provide the perfect setting for Murphy's wide-ranging alto, which is thrillingly in evidence on "Bad", her earliest composition, written at the tender age of 15. Other highlights include "Your Song", which neatly incorporates Rihanna's 2013 single, "Pour it Up", in its middle section and a deeply personal take on Frank Ocean's stateside hit, "Swim Good". Best of all, perhaps, is "Godspeed"; a raw, inflamed ballad, that just might be a future classic and is clear evidence of how quickly Gabrielle Murphy is progressing as a song-writer.
Between songs, Murphy is relaxed and humorous, and there was genuine warmth in her unselfconscious exchanges with the audience, particularly her light-hearted disagreement with her mother over their favourite song. What really made this a memorable gig, though, was the sudden awareness that you were watching not so much a young singer, learning her craft, but a truly rounded performer, a singer with conviction and passion, delivering a set of self-penned songs that struck right at your heart. These are dark songs, for sure, but tonight they lit up the RedHouse like a fireworks display on New Year's Eve!
Climbing Trees are, without doubt, their own worst enemy! Just how are they meant to follow up a debut album as truly wondrous as Hebron? With the band on leave of absence from Mwnci Studios, where they've been busy working on that "difficult second album", there's a chance, at long last, for devotees of the group to hear some long anticipated new material.
Appropriately then, the Trees open with a brace of post-Hebron songs. "Amber", it has to be said, has been trailed on the internet and radio for some time and is already an established part of the group's live set. It's followed though, by a startling new song, "Set in Stone", which, even on first hearing, feels to me like a vital addition to the band's repertoire. For the sublimely harmonious "River Home"; one of Hebron's many highlights, keyboard guru Matthew Frederick, bass player Colenso Jones, and drummer Jay Bennetts share the vocal duties with gifted singer Martin Webb, on what is, arguably, still the band's most affecting song to date.
Three brand new songs follow, with Matthew Frederick again to the fore on the soaring piano driven "Fall". Though it's "Lost", a song which Frederick only half-jokingly refers to as their "pop" song, which perhaps signposts the direction of travel the Trees are hoping to take on their forthcoming album. Its bolder sound certainly makes it a likely festival favourite of the future. The band wrapped up their excellent set with the glorious "Under the Lindens", a beautifully fragile song on record, that is somehow transformed tonight, making for a rousing, dynamic finale.
Living up to the exceptional promise of Hebron won't be at all easy, but the Trees proved tonight they have another cache of remarkable songs to their name. Their second album should be one of the musical highlights of 2015.
Houdini Dax are a band that simply exude confidence and self-belief and it soon becomes crystal clear why. Jack Butler (vocals), Owen Richards (bass) and Dave Newington (drums) each combine to make a consummate power-pop trio, and they deliver, as always, a no-holds barred, punchy set, of post baby boomer pop, brimming with truly memorable songs.
Opening with their current single, the ecstatically catchy Apple Tree, it's immediately obvious that this is a band that could sell a lot of records if they could just manage to pull off that rare trick of finding themselves in the right place at the right time. The following number, "Legs", is jaw droppingly good and boasts a seismic riff that Bo-Diddley or Keith Richards, in their heyday, would have been proud of. Live favourite, "Get your Goo On", pumps up the volume even further, with Jack Butler even managing to whip up enthusiastic levels of audience participation to compliment this obvious crowd pleaser.
It isn't all about gargantuan riffs though; the jocular "Struggling in the Sand" showcases the bands superior three-part harmonies and the groovy "Crackdance" has the knowing air of an exotic 60s TV theme, while the irreverent "Found Love at the Dole Office" is as stupendously catchy as it is funny; 'I found love in the dole office / couldn't get a job, but I got a kiss'.
Tonight's short set meant there was no room for sure-fire classics like " Our Boy Billy" and "Good old fashioned Maniac" but a raucous "Heaven's Gate" closed out another thumping set by the best guitar band in Britain.
Kevin McGrath writes for the respected cultural commentary website http://www.walesartsreview.org/. His blog http://www.kgmcgrath.tumblr.com covers a variety of musical genres and is essential reading for news of the best new bands in Wales.
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