All content © 2008 Clwb Ifor Bach
All Rights Reserved.
Privacy . Site Credits
Listings
Saturday, 29th March 2008
Miaw!Miaw!Miaw!
The Lionheart Brothers / Kontakte / El Goodo
There's a big blog buzz surrounding this Norwegian quintet named after the boys in Astrid Lindgren's enchanting The Brothers Lionheart, a 1973 book (and a 1977 film) about Nangijala, a fantasy land beyond the stars where you go after you die. (Huh? We thought you went to Bluewater, especially if you're bad.) Growing up, schoolfriends Forsgren and Storset shared an intense love for the movie, partly because they identified with the poignant plight of the chronically-ill 10-year-old, and partly because they wanted the actors' Monkees (as opposed to Monkeys, or monkeys) haircuts. Comprising two members of Serena Maneesh, the Lionheart Brothers are one of those bands who use mid-60s Beach Boys and Byrds as a launch-pad for their experiments in space-pop. 50 Souls And A Discobowl, from the forthcoming album Dizzy Kiss, nods to the slickly exuberant studio productions of French cousins Phoenix and Tahiti 80, while single Hero Anthem, with its Smile organ sound and relentless pace, recalls the melodic motorik of Stereolab, and Blue Wedding sounds like Brian Wilson at his croakily damaged solo extreme. Elsewhere, there are echoes of My Bloody Valentine's steep-gradient dreampop and the lo-fi loveliness of the Elephant 6 collective. The buzz: "A widescreen, psychedelic colossus juxtaposing the serenity of Slowdive with the blissful chamber pop of Brian Wilson, all swirling organs and dreamy hooks." The truth: The bridge between Camden and California, basically. Most likely to: Petition for Brian Wilson to perform Mount Vernon And Fairway (A Fairy Tale) in its entirety, live, complete with original narration by Jack Rieley. Least likely to: Petition for the Beach Boys to reform for a performance of Kokomo. File next to: My Bloody Valentine, Stereolab, Phoenix, Neutral Milk Hotel. What to buy: Hero Anthem is released by Racing Junior on April 30, with Dizzy Kiss to follow in May.
8:00pm | £6/£7 | buy tickets
