MUSIC

Anson Rooms, Bristol (Thur 20 Oct)

Hadn’t heard Marcus Foster’s ‘Nameless Path’, but knew reviews called it “close to the ground occupied by Van Morrison’s masterful ‘Astral Weeks’”. On this evidence, that’d be the lesser-heard Impressively Throaty But Hardly Subtle Blues Hollerer version.

Sashaying as they step, centre-parted hair and long dresses in mirrored flow, to a bare-treed, moonlit backdrop, on walk Alabama siblings Allison and Catherine Pierce. It’s moodsome, Disneyfied late-60s West Coast hippiedom, even before they break into the Mamas & Papas’ ‘California Dreamin’’. With different words. But magnificent nonetheless. Sweet Dixie Dean, it’s no overstatement to declare the soul-raising harmonies to be on a par with their aural forebears. NB For the sake of record we should note there are four men playing backing instruments but, given they insist on repeatedly pulling sessioneer overbite sex faces, we’ll let them be.

Truth be told, there’s barely a distinctive song all night. Frankly, floating up here atop the choruses, such niceties matter not: theirs is a music like utterly moreish, supraquality processed cheese – imagine Dairylea making Roquefort triangles. And, good crikey, when they do ally their voices to a thoroughbred pop tune, all heaven breaks loose. ‘Glorious’ indeed.

It has – belatedly – become hip to appreciate the artfully smooth, rarely matched sheen of mid-70s vintage Fleetwood Mac. Approximately zero of these late-coming trendsters are in the crowd tonight, rather leaving Venue feeling like Judith Iscariot in ‘Life of Brian’: “It’s happening, [insert absent names here]! That sound is actually happening!” An encore acapella version of Simon and Garfunkel ‘Kathy's Song’ (“we’ve sung this since I was four and she was six”) proves they’re built from the voice out, not production in. Dream a little dream of them soon. (Julian Owen)

Copyright Julian Owen 2011
Pictures: Ellen Doherty: www.duchessphotographic.com