My Latest Novel @ TheBasement, Sydney (10/12/06)

Thu 14th Dec, 2006 in Gig Reviews

Before I start this review, I must offer my deepest apologies to both support acts. Unfortunately, despite my best attempts to arrive in Sydney on time, a lengthy delay to my flight from Melbourne, meant I missed out on both support bands, The Instant and Home Video. Though regrettable this is, it also allows me to concentrate on the sublime performance of the headliner’s, My Latest Novel at The Basement on a mellow Sunday night.

Like life, music is full of vicissitudes and My Latest Novel from Scotland is one particular artist that explores the wide spectrum of emotions, we, humans access in life. A wonderfully literate five-piece that formed three years ago in a small town outside Glasgow, their debut album, Wolves, was one of the great releases of 2006, combining subtle, breezy folk melodies with intricate layers of sound, from lush string arrangements and rousing four-part vocal harmonies to xylophones and tambourines. However, despite the multi-textured nature of the record,  the band was able to translate this into a simple and engaging live dynamic that was most absorbing.

It was a night of many first times, my first visit to The Basement and the group’s first venture to Sydney, on their maiden tour of Australia, and undoubtedly, it will be one both will remember. Beginning with the understated tenderness of opener, Learning Lego, what struck me was the intimacy of the venue, which allowed songs such as When We Were Wolves to transcend their recorded versions. Sounding like a lynch mob baying for blood, all five members of the band repeatedly sung, “When we were wolves”, to the backdrop of a menacing drumbeat that shook the floors of The Basement and forthrightly eschewed the twee label often placed on them. One label, however, which has also stuck with the group, the comparisons to the Arcade Fire, was most evident in the heartfelt, Reputation of Ross Francis a relatively short but devastatingly powerful song about one’s desperation for acceptance. Unleashing a rousing chorus of “I’ll fight by tooth and nail”, sung plaintively by four vocalists, the group exhibited its thoroughly exciting melodramatic side.

Artists of any value always possess one song that encapsulates the spirit of their music, and Sister Sneaker Sister Soul an epic song of unrequited love represented this for My Latest Novel. Beginning with a sweet melody, the song gradually built into a climax of discordant violins, amidst a riveting backdrop of thrashing guitars and pounding drums. However, it was the bittersweet coda, delivered by lead singer, Chris Deveney, in a subdued and poignant manner which truly exemplified My Latest Novel’s delicate but deliberate approach to music. Ending the night on this emotional high, the five-piece left an appreciative audience with a soundtrack to tackle the vicissitudes of another working week in our hectic, modern lives.