Having seen this band do a superb set at The Doghouse a few months back, followed by and even better set at Hustlers a few weeks after, and now more familiar with the songs, it was with great anticipation that I sdet out to catch the band do an acoustic set at the hottest venue around the area right now for acoustic music, notably The Fort Hotel in the Ferry.
They make a great sight in acoustic mode - a quartet, you had Emma, the pencil thin female drummer sitting down behind a pair of bongos, and on backing vocals too, while next to her sat the diminutive charms of Samantha looking positively angelic sitting in front of the mic armed only with a tambourine. Either side of them sat Chris and Tony on acoustic bass and acoustic guitar respectively, looking more like the girls' minders who'd just been roped into play at the last minute (bet they never forgive me after this!!!). But what followed was nothing short of absolute quality.
They opened with a track that can be found on their myspace site, "Il Pleut" and you have to say that there was absolutely not an ounce of difference in the quality, spirit and feel of the song compared with when they play it electrically. With Emma playing bongos with finesse and strength, fingers flying, the two guitarists provided the backbone and the textural depth. Above this, Samantha's voice just soared, a thing of amazing strength and absolute purity, just flying from the PA with grace and force, as the insistent choruses and repetitive hooks had the audience spellbound from the start. From there they went into the anthemic "AOK" which also flew from the speakers with an almost siren-like quality, daring you not to be dazzled by its uplifting warmth and commercial longevity. "This Town", although lacking the power of the electric version, possessed a deep appeal and the performance was excellent - Emma's fingers rattling the bongos with purpose while the crisp playing from the acoustic guitar provided the icing on the instrumental cake as the bass provided the backbone. Another spiraling vocal performance from Samantha was delivered with the customary energy, passion and grace that you're now coming to expect from such an amazing female vocalist. They introduced a new song, "These Are The Things", if I recall the title correctly, and it comes across much more as an overtly balladic song but one that builds as much as it cascades, allowing Samantha's range of vocal to come into play, and a song that proved to be a definite grower as they performed it once more in the second set. I have to say that, and this may sound silly, but I was seriously impressed by the bongo playing from Emma - normally, in such a case, it might get lost in the mix or not sound as strong as you'd like, when it comes to propelling the songs along, but in her hands, the result was lively and spot on.
With a version of "Soalr Powered Human" proving to be the only song of the set that didn't come across quite as well as the electric version, but still every bit a gem of a song, the whole set was dominated by the mesmerising purity and jaw-dropping strength of Samantha's vocal, while Emma's lower harmonies and the band's playing, put acoustic music into a whole new dimension. This is one red hot band, even in this domain, and they're playing a whole stack of electric dates in Scotland over the next few weeks, so you owe it to yourself to go see one of the finest bands around right now - and look out for the studio tracks to be reviewed on this site, real soon.