Tag Archives: The English Riviera

Live music review: Metronomy

5 Oct

A defining period in the Barclaycard Mercury-prize nominated band Metronomy’s gig was the uplifting sight of keyboard player/saxophonist Oscar Cash being wheeled around the stage from right to left and then back again as he played the synthesizer on the band’s song The Look. The group’s Royal Albert Hall gig this week was fun from beginning to end.

Bassist Gbenga Adelekan drove the funkiness and energy of their electropop repertoire. Anna Prior, shimmering vivaciously in a green sequin catsuit wowed as the exuberant drummer and lead singer/keyboardist/guitarist/founder Joseph Mount topped it all off with his melodious voice and love for the audience.

No one was sitting by the third song and there was certainly no cause to sit down again. Each band member sported their trade mark oversized circular lights which flashed in time to the music in different sequences. They whipped through tracks from their most recent album The English Riviera and 2008’s Nights Out. All of the songs worked live except for one of my favourites on the latest album. In Love Underlined, the swirling overlay music sounds running through the track overpowered the band’s instruments and the Joseph’s voice both times that I’ve seen them live. Apart from this imperfection, it was one big party that seemed over too soon.

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Music review: Metronomy’s The English Riviera

15 May

To be honest it’s been very difficult to prise the third album from British band Metronomy from my hands over the last week. It’s a glamorous companion to Spring and Summer evenings, most definitely with the once soaring sun starting to wane, ready to be replaced by the moon.

The beach scene is set by the sound of waves lapping the sand when it starts. We are taken to an early Bowie-esque vibe with We Broke Free but this is by no means the feel of The English Riviera. Next up is a completely contrasting dulcet duet Everything Goes My Way about a reunited couple. The album is interspersed with funky electronica on tracks like The Look and The Bay. She Wants, seemingly about sleeplessness, is reminiscent of the eighties – a touch like the slightly mysterious feel of the band Japan. The album comes to a climactic closure with Love Underlined. Unusually, every track is a gem. Founder of the band, James Mount from Devon, has, with this current line-up of the band, put together an addictive collection.

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