SNOWPOET
Hare and Hounds, Birmingham 19th April 2018
Hare and Hounds, Birmingham 19th April 2018
[photo credit Sara Baber]
Touring their new CD, ‘Thought you knew’ (reviewed on Jazz Views here: http://www.jazzviews.net/snowpoet---thought-you-knew.html), Snowpoet played a bostin set on the Hare and Hounds (to use a brummie phrase). As well as the new CD, the set drew on their eponymous first CD. They opened with ‘Mermaid’, from the first CD and closed with ‘Love again’ from the recent one – which ought to be the chill-out hit of the summer. The acoustics in the room gave space for Lauren Kinsella’s vocal range, as she swept from whispering to speaking to richly textured singing. Live, the interplay between her singing and Josh Arcoleo is brought more to the fore than on their recordings; in several of the songs, he shadowed the notes of her song and she modulated her singing to match the sound of his sax. The way sax and voice echoed each was much like a set of effects pedals distorting and replaying each instrument. Watching and hearing this happen live was very special. Snowpoet create an elegant mix of nu-jazz with something not far from folk sensibility, and wrap this in shimmering trance rhythms. The looping lines, together with an insistent (but gentle) bass and drums is hypnotic, and Kinsella’s vocal delivery really draws in the audience. The musical setting brings out the bitter-sweet mix of humour and regret in her lyrics.
A highlight for me was the solo performance of ‘Dear Someone’ with an octaver that gave her a deep backing vocal from her own voice. You could hear a pin drop. Prior to this, the band played through four or five songs in succession with each song seeping into the next. I liked the way the Chris Hyson, Matthew Robinson and Josh swapped bass playing roles and how they took turns on keys. I guess being on tour, it is good to freshen things up by playing different instruments and it is testament to the talents of this group that these changes were seamless.
The current tour began in snow in Bristol a few weeks back and brought bright sunshine to Birmingham for this evenings show. The group had a scheduled trip to Ireland affected by the recent inclement weather but will be heading there to the next few weeks. Anyone reading this in Ireland would be mad to miss such a superb live act.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Touring their new CD, ‘Thought you knew’ (reviewed on Jazz Views here: http://www.jazzviews.net/snowpoet---thought-you-knew.html), Snowpoet played a bostin set on the Hare and Hounds (to use a brummie phrase). As well as the new CD, the set drew on their eponymous first CD. They opened with ‘Mermaid’, from the first CD and closed with ‘Love again’ from the recent one – which ought to be the chill-out hit of the summer. The acoustics in the room gave space for Lauren Kinsella’s vocal range, as she swept from whispering to speaking to richly textured singing. Live, the interplay between her singing and Josh Arcoleo is brought more to the fore than on their recordings; in several of the songs, he shadowed the notes of her song and she modulated her singing to match the sound of his sax. The way sax and voice echoed each was much like a set of effects pedals distorting and replaying each instrument. Watching and hearing this happen live was very special. Snowpoet create an elegant mix of nu-jazz with something not far from folk sensibility, and wrap this in shimmering trance rhythms. The looping lines, together with an insistent (but gentle) bass and drums is hypnotic, and Kinsella’s vocal delivery really draws in the audience. The musical setting brings out the bitter-sweet mix of humour and regret in her lyrics.
A highlight for me was the solo performance of ‘Dear Someone’ with an octaver that gave her a deep backing vocal from her own voice. You could hear a pin drop. Prior to this, the band played through four or five songs in succession with each song seeping into the next. I liked the way the Chris Hyson, Matthew Robinson and Josh swapped bass playing roles and how they took turns on keys. I guess being on tour, it is good to freshen things up by playing different instruments and it is testament to the talents of this group that these changes were seamless.
The current tour began in snow in Bristol a few weeks back and brought bright sunshine to Birmingham for this evenings show. The group had a scheduled trip to Ireland affected by the recent inclement weather but will be heading there to the next few weeks. Anyone reading this in Ireland would be mad to miss such a superb live act.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
