When rock bands decide to do an unplugged show, it either works well or doesn’t, and lets face it, many bands have tried it – either with acoustic versions of their hits or adding more instruments or an orchestra, it’s not a new idea.

For Perth darlings Birds of Tokyo this is not new either. They did an acoustic show a few years ago at the Fly By Night Club and received such positive feedback, they decided to go to the next level, bringing in a string quartet and a grand piano. When The Broken Strings Tour was announced last year some fans had reservations about how well it would work, but after seeing their performances late last year most agreed that it was one of the best things the band has ever done.

If you went to one of these shows last year, and enjoyed it then you are going to love the CD -the magic of the performance has been captured perfectly, allowing you to relive the experience as often as you like. The tracks were recorded at the shows at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney and the Melbourne Town Hall -there is a moment were singer, Ian Kenny says “Hello Melbourne Town” as he welcomes the audience.

You have to give the band a lot of credit for how well the stripped back pop songs come alive, acquiring the dimension and texture they were aiming at when they began the project. Wild Eyed Boy comes in a country flavour, the intro of Off Kilter is simply wonderful, Broken Bones is awe inspiring, but the highlight is definitely Medicine. The performance on tour left the audiences stunned by the exquisitely passionate delivery, and on the CD it is captured perfectly. Here, the string quartet come into their own. A final mention must go to the cover of Heard It Through The Grapevine, which was an interesting and successful choice.

Kenny’s vocals are pretty much faultless connecting it all together, but the real star of the show is Glen Sarangapany who shines on the piano. Let’s not forget composer Anthony Cormican who put this all together with the band and did a great job along with the string quartet, who did themselves proud. The banter between audience and the band is quite enjoyable and you can tell they were having a lot of fun with it.

If the CD version is not enough for you, then the accompanying DVD of The Broken Strings Tour goes further, showing backstage and rehearsal footage (seeing guitarist Adam Spark trying to get the band to match the performance of the string quartet in one rehearsal is worth watching!) If there is one gripe with the DVD version is that some of the concert footage from the Sydney show looks a bit dodgy, especially disappointing since it’s at the beautiful Enmore Theatre.

You have to hand it to Birds of Tokyo; they have never been afraid to take a gamble and this one has paid off big time. Pulling it off with such seeming ease deserves a lot of credit, and this project will be opening new possibilities to explore in the future.