Hejira, Junction J2, Cambridge, 22 July 2024

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A full Junction J2 was treated to an evening of relaxed sound from the seven piece band Hejira, formed by guitarist Pete Oxley to play their own tunes but mainly as a showcase for the mid-career albums of Joni Mitchell. These collections were infused with jazz style and top-rate session players, especially on the live double LP ‘Shadows and Light’. At the time the compositions were given their emotional range and depth by Joni’s vocals and for the show tonight singer Hattie Whitehead delivered the empathetic and nuanced performances that did the songs full justice. The many highlights included ‘Coyote’, ‘Free Man in Paris’, ‘Woodstock’ and as an encore, the brilliant ‘A Case of You’.

https://www.facebook.com/hejiracelebratingjoni/

http://www.hattiewhitehead.com

Jo Ash : Nothing To Say, single released June 2024

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New single ‘Nothing To Say’ from keyboardist/singer Jo Ash may seem unseasonal with the opening lines ‘……cold wind bites, you’re outside with no sense of time…direction’s changed, but winter stays the same….’ but of course it is a metaphor for the emotional detachment and melancholy that is the core of the song.

The gentle piano theme of the introduction heralds a gorgeous waltz-time ballad, strong on melody and atmosphere. The instrumentation becomes denser for the musical uplift of the chorus ‘…wish for a storm when the skies are so clear…and there’s nothing to stand in your way….’. This new single is enhanced by a video with Jo walking through the signature surroundings (‘…sky so vast….’) around her East Anglian home.

It is a subtle yet potent track, in many ways the distilled musical essence of this talented performer.

https://www.joashmusic.com/

Dos Floris, Strawberry Fair, Cambridge, 1 June 2024

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The Strawberry Fair – Cambridge’s highly regarded free festival of music and culture is a platform for a huge range of talented acts and as the darkness fell across the site singer/songwriter/musician Dos Floris arrived on stage. Many of her earlier recordings and shows feature dense instrumentation and fabulous electronic soundscapes but tonight the songs were stripped back to an effects-free acoustic guitar. This emphasises the resonance, strength and sensitivity of her natural voice – a powerful instrument indeed.

She opened with the confiding, dreamlike ‘The Other Side’ (‘….in this fading light nobody feel the pain…’), which added a mellow warmth to the cold summer evening. New song ‘Fireflies’ continued to weave the magic along with the subtle melancholy of ‘Mexico’ (‘…..but if there’s a chance, we’ll go wipe our tears away go dance in Mexico….’). It was the gentle grandeur of ‘Mountains’ that stole the show; short lyrical phrases and effective melody building to a grand finish.

Florence Donovan aka Dos Floris splits her time between Italy and UK so it was a rare treat to see her perform In Cambridge (also as part of a bill with Tape Runs Out and Scatterchild at the Blue Moon the previous evening!).

https://dosfloris.com/home

Two Ways Home, Tall Trees, Cambridge, 7 May 2024

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Tall Trees is a welcoming former pub and now a plant-decorated music and food venue on the edge of Cambridge city centre. Opening performer Georgia Nevada played a short set of her own heartfelt compositions and a cover of ‘Small Town Hypocrite’, with her strong voice accompanied by acoustic guitar.

Two Ways Home is duo Isabella and Lewis Folkner, tonight augmented by drums and versatile second guitar to add extra depth to their country-based sound. Like Georgia, they have a warm and engaging stage presence. A real strength of the band is their song variety; from the wide open spaces of single ‘Medicine Man’ and ‘Waiting on Luck’ to the country-rock of ‘Feet on the Asphalt’ (…watch the fun sock video too…). Then the quieter songs have a real emotional heft, using three-part harmonies to great effect on the folky ‘Push and Pull’ and especially the gorgeous ‘Don’t Give Up On Me Tonight’, performed to rapt attention from the audience.

‘Tattoo’ has neat lyrical ideas then the up-tempo pop of ‘Broken Hearts Club’ ends this excellent show, leaving behind many very impressed listeners.

https://www.twowayshome.com/

https://www.georgianevada.com/

Mammoth Penguins : Here, LP released May 2024

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The long-awaited new album from Mammoth Penguins arrives, opening with the powerhouse blast of ‘Species’, previously released as a single and superbly showcasing their musical clout and lyrical acuity. Following next is the light touch of ‘I Know The Signs’ where the simplicity of the words ‘…It’s all in the way you smile…I had my guard down…I wasn’t trying to impress anyone…’ belie the deeper feelings.

The attractive dissonance of ‘Flyers’ fires another neat anthem; a mini-history of many a struggling band. ‘Everything I Write’ is a pure but dark pop gem ‘…you don’t listen to what I say….I have to tell you the same thing two to three times a day…’. The title track ‘Here’ departs into a lusher sound featuring strings and builds a rich atmosphere over five and a half minutes.

The staccato guitar of ‘Old Friends’ underpins a realistic sentiment delivered wistfully by band composer Emma Kupa ‘….I can’t believe we made two lemonades last all night….why did we wait twenty years to laugh like old times?….’ while ‘Lost Friends’ acoustically echoes some of the same regrets.

And there are more tracks to savour on this excellent collection; the sleeve artwork may be monochrome but the songwriting, performance and production is full of depth and colour.

(Catch Mammoth Penguins Live!, at The Blue Moon in Cambridge 23/05/2024 with support from Huia Fun Club and Broken Chanter)

https://www.facebook.com/MammothPenguins

Jo Ash : Clouds, single released April 2024

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The new single from composer/performer Jo Ash is a delicate and sombre poem, set to a minimal piano backing. Opening lines ‘….I’m listening to you but your words melt into the road like tar…the harsh air whips my face, I almost feel the cuts it makes….’ set the tone and quietly build atmosphere, as the imagery of nature and time weave through the lyric.

The air of uncertainty resolves into a chorus ‘…..everything moves, and still I walk, and sometimes it stops…then it rises up and I’m asking why it feels like it matters more than it does….’ but the song never departs from the ethereal beauty created by Jo’s vocal and measured keyboard figures. There is a gentle intrusion from haunting synthesiser strings as overall this sparse musical gem hits all the right emotional notes.

https://www.joashmusic.com

Psychic Lemon : The Unheimlich Kingdom, LP released 29 February 2024

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The much anticipated new long player from Cambridge-based psychedelic stalwarts, Psychic Lemon…

  1. Trepanning For Gold The band drill into your head with this brash opener; a repeating three chord hyper-distorted guitar riff and a hypnotic drum pattern enhanced by cymbal clashes. Halfway through the guitar solo ascends into space and drifts off into the ether.
  2. Cognitive Dissidents This sparse intro could be the start of an edgy sixties pop song, but don’t be fooled; the guitar smashes in and the track becomes an inverted twist on Pink Floyd’s Interstellar Overdrive.
  3. National Psycho Geographic Frenetic drumming and doom-laden bass with a siren call from a guitar duelling with itself and eventually unleashing the dark hordes of Mordor.
  4. The Unheimlich Kingdom The band have now reduced to two members but there is no decrease in their creativity as this 21-minute title track clearly shows. Underpinned by a rich and unchanging bass pedal root, the instrumentation subtly evolves at the speed of tectonic plates, pulling in the listener to a weird world of metronomic percussion and guitar strings being tortured and deformed. It is a triumphant achievement; bleak, despairing…..but totally addictive.

http://www.psychiclemon.co.uk

TVAM, Portland Arms, Cambridge, 1 February 2024

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Amethysts opened the show with their spectral and special blend of vocals, electronics and effects laden guitar, and tonight there is the addition of a live drummer. From the flourish and catchy chorus of ‘How It Is’ through the echoing guitar-driven ‘Pressure Makes Diamonds’ and the classy yearning pop of ‘My Love’ it all works beautifully.

TVAM is the musical project of multi-instrumentalist and singer Joe Oxley, his vocals and guitar complemented on stage by extra keyboards and drums. It is a huge, enveloping sound for the whole set after the stately prelude of ‘Future Flesh’ gives way to a wall of dense beats and electronic textures.

Words blend in like another instrument and add an extra dimension to the tracks, many from his most recent LP ‘High Art Lite’. The evening ended with the epic ‘Total Immersion’, continually building in layers and relentlessly brilliant.

https://t-v-a-m.bandcamp.com

https://weareamethysts.bandcamp.com

Jo Ash : Idols, single released February 2024

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The engaging new single from composer/musician Jo Ash muses on the ups and downs of fame, channelling the persona of a lone singer in the spotlight; with her rich vocal telling the story over a lush keyboard and percussive backing. The strong chorus cuts through as the emotional core of the track, ‘….What did she feel when they cried out for more…what did they do when she fell to the floor….and now they’re all gone…could she ever be lonely….’, the catchiness of the music hiding the darker tones within the lyrics.

This thoughtful song is accompanied by a video featuring Jo in multiple studio roles of performance and production as well as a cameo appearance on the wall from the cracked actor himself David Bowie, perhaps the ultimate musical idol?

https://www.joashmusic.com

Yoke : Yeah, EP released December 2023

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Created from notable Cambridge bands (moonstrips, baby seals, model village, doyouthinkhesaurus – all reviewed elsewhere on this site…), Yoke release their debut EP. It is probably unique in that it is an unplayable disc with embedded seeds to be planted (‘..when you have grown tired looking at it…’)

  1. Yeah. The title song rolls some keyboard idling around a tight two chord pulse while the drums make glorious noise throughout. Not sure what the verses are about but no mistaking the chorus,’...Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. Yeah, Yeah..‘.
  2. Game of Crows. This psychedelic onslaught is dark and deep with a killer descending line to the words ‘…. if we take our medicine…’ The spooky organ solo gives way to soaring guitar as this track shows off the band at full power.
  3. Wayne Coyne. Starting off as a pastoral guitar and piano interlude, this enigmatic piece of baroque rock later unleashes waves of anthemic sounds.
  4. Tortoise. This grand finale fuses together musical ideas from the rest of the EP, built around a pounding and ominous slow marching structure. The haunting vocal refrain stays in the mind, as do many moments from this choice collection of spiky art-rock.

https://www.facebook.com/yokemusic

https://oooyokeooo.bandcamp.com/album/yeah-ep