MUSIC

The Old Bookshop, Bristol (Thur 16 Feb)

Lord knows US coffee shop culture took a long time to hit the UK with any kind of conviction, but it’s making up for lost time – not only does The Old Bookshop feel like it stepped straight out of Portland, Oregon, but tonight they’ve found a band to match. Upon a stage lit by a 70s-styled freestanding lamp, tasselled shade and all, Holly McIntosh is summoning up the melodies of California to the south, the intelligent lyricism of Olympia to the north, and... wait, no, that’s much too neat. Sure, Mouse Deer do work to a code whereby you can’t over-“la” a melody, over “ooh” a hook, but the free-running vocal lines trace back to determinedly English late-60s psychedelia. Realised with the support of drummer Barney Stevens and Schnauser mate Alan Strawbridge, McIntosh’s songs wriggle wonderfully beyond expectation of where they might head; better, no musical idea, no vaulting ambition of a plan, will be cast aside for questioning whether the voice will follow. And a splendid voice it is, imbued with a kind of languid brightness not unlike Tammy Payne’s; a hazy voice of late summer, in the still and soft-focused part of the park where liquid sunlight meets creeping shadow. A summer sound for all seasons. (Julian Owen)

Copyright Julian Owen 2012