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LIVE REVIEW
TALK NORMAL AT Penelopes, Sheffield
Talk Normal
Penelopes
Sheffield
28/04/10

The darkly clad duo from Brooklyn seem somewhat out of place stood before the gold glitter backdrop that hangs like something from a seventies bingo hall. They set up and start in the corner of the room whilst most people are still sat talking to one another. Soon Andrya Ambro’s howl begins to spread through the venue reaching every dusty corner and sounding like an unhinged or even demented Karen O. In reverse, the guitars provide something of a cover backbone for the drums, as the beat eclipses them both stylistically and rhythmically. The drum playing is relentlessly captivating – for such fragmented and disjointed cadence’s they are played with a smoothness that resembles the rolling pistons of a steam train – and while a perplexing juxtaposition, it’s also a gratifying one. The guitar playing eventually falls somewhat by the wayside as a result of such innovation, and when that accounts for fifty percent of the output, it does at times suffer as a collective output. However, when this duo are both at their best, creating a synergy, it becomes an engaging and at time ferocious cacophony.

By Daniel Dylan Wray

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Originally published in issue 17 (vol 3) of Loud And Quiet. May 2010


HUDSON MOHAWKE AT XOYO
XOYO
Old Street, London
19/10/11

The best shows are most often those where artist and audience fall into a frenzied feedback loop of mutual appreciation.

AZARI & ILL AT WHITE HEAT, SOHO
White Heat
Soho, London
01/11/11

Some tech-savvy good Samaritan recently ripped and uploaded a BBC radio documentary about house music grandaddy Larry Levan.

GOTYE AT KCLSU
KCLSU
London
01/11/11

King’s College seems an odd venue for Australian singer-songwriter Gotye.

FLAMINGODS AT THE SHACKLEWELL ARMS
The Shacklewell Arms
Dalston, London
19/10/11

Save for an old electronic keyboard and a delay pedal that makes singer Kamal’s vocals ping-pong out of the room, Flamingods don’t do instruments with wires.

PURE X AT THE SHACKLEWELL ARMS
The Shacklewell Arms
Dalston, London
1/11/11

Drugs. They’re rife within popular music. Especially within the type that Texan trio Pure X make, courtesy of a Spiritualized habit they just can’t (or won’t) kick.

2:54 AT CORSICA STUDIOS, ELEPHANT AND CASTLE
Corsica Studios
Elephant & Castle, London
09/11/11

Sisters Hannah and Colette Thurlow famously named their bristly, glowering rock band after a favourite moment on a Melvins song, 2 minutes and 54 seconds in, to be precise.

DOOM & GHOSTFACE AT THE ROUNDHOUSE
The Roundhouse, Camden
London
05/11/11

The man formerly known as MF Doom returns to the Roundhouse for a sold-out show, barely a year after his debut European performance in the same venue.

CAGED ANIMALS AT THE SHACKLEWELL ARMS
The Shacklewell Arms
Dalston, London
28/09/11

In the studio, Caged Animals (Soft Black’s Vincent Cacchione’s new baby) deal in a faintly cloying, suburban youth-channelling indie with a twist.

MILK MAID AT THE GREEN DOOR, BRIGHTON
The Green Door
Brighton
20/09/11

Despite the days of Union Jack plastered guitars and weather-worn parkas being a prerequisite of any northern based guitar band being long gone.

METRONOMY AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL
Royal Albert Hall, Kensington
London
03/10/11

“It’s hard to believe that in this very room they used to have gladiators fighting to the death,” exclaims Metronomy main-man Joe Mount.