Fire Starters.
by bob osborne. 03.05.10.
Sounds from the Other City. Rovers Return. Kingfishers Catch Fire.
Elected Silence, sing to me
And beat upon my whorlèd ear,
Pipe me to pastures still and be
The music that I care to hear
Well it made sense to quote Gerard Manley Hopkins, given that the opening band of the Salford Music Co-operative chunk of 2010's Sounds from the Other City derive their name from one of his poetical works.
How then to describe Kingfishers Catch Fire ?
The focus, as is the norm in these rock and roll
matters, has to be on vocalist Max Howard whose compelling and unique
vocal style – which evokes in my head a strange amalgam of early Peter Hammill and something in the region of Weill/Brecht – is an immediate
winner for the band.
Importantly though, the band’s music is just as good. Alan Slack’s bass is a steady anchor with driving rhythm from Leah Hartshorne on the drum-kit, providing a great engine room. The opening “Apocalypse Song” is a compelling melange of pulsating rhythm and progressive structures.
Lucy Barton’s guitar work is both delicate in the
quieter sections – the opening section of “Song we both know” a case in
point - and exciting, as demonstrated by the louder passages of the same
song. Max Hartshorne’s synths are used intelligently to create a rich
basis from which the other musicians explode into action.
Max Howard describes the set as a collection of songs about “darkness, suicide, doom and despair” – this does not come across in the performance which is brisk and energising. A good decision I think by John Herring to put a band on first that plays challenging music outside of the accepted trends.
The closing two numbers are immense. “Albatross” starts slowly but then develops into a very clever song indeed – for some reason early 10,000 Maniacs comes into my mind in respect of form and structure. Then “This ship is sinking “ with its elegiac opening building into a luxuriant epic of very high quality indeed. Breathtaking stuff with chills up the spine.
How good to find a band which is truly unique and which shows great promise.
Max Howard - Vocals
Max Hartshorne - Synthesizers
Lucy Barton - Guitar
Alan Slack - Bass guitar
Leah Hartshorne - Drums