with Cassius, Dum Language and Kyuzo
The gig was organised by CB Promotions
Reviewed by Aleksandra Brzezicka
On Friday evening The Soundhouse got in tune with the gloomy weather outside for a special acoustic gig featuring Cassius, Dum Language, Kyuzo and BoatsOnTheOcean. It got us weeping along with the rain and occasionally let us see the sun shining through the clouds.
Songwriter/singer Cassius Povey, accompanied only by his acoustic guitar, opened with paradoxically cheerfully melancholic, Finding Me. Even though the lyrics went ‘I’m such a waste of space; I’m still finding me,’ I strongly disagree. Cassius’s light-hearted, pulsing with authenticity melodies about heavy stuff and his self-conscious, simultaneously velvety and punchy vocals, made me want to listen to the stories he’s telling.
There’s more to him than his introduction ‘I’m Cassius and I like to write songs about my ex’ revealed.
Dum Language re-arranged their rousing repertoire to the stripped-down grunge with Nirvana meets Talking Heads kind of vibe.
Starting off actually a bit lethargic, Lethargy, they quickly made up for it. Written on the same day, Dream Ting brought the storm inside along with a true force of nature, full of groovy bass notes and newfound confidence, Throwing Stones.
The one to finish the set off was Silk Road, a beautifully darker track in the spirit of All Apologies. Even though Dum Language are quite new to the scene, you can rarely hear that in their bigger them themselves tunes and a psychedelic brew of dirty rock ‘n’ roll and grunge that cries.
Watch Dum Language perform Silk Road at the gig:
Kyuzo, accurately self-called vintage rock band, inspired by The Last Shadow Puppets, took us on the far voyage bursting with breezy indie melodies, guitars that gently weep and cooled down alt-rock tones. They played most tracks of their new EP, Look (out now), including, Espionage in USSR, a transcendent tune that takes you out of your emotional shell to make you vulnerable to the mellow, heart-melting melodies. Kyuzo is a modern mixture of Donovan, well-mannered Grateful Dead and calmer version of Arctic Monkeys. Quite intriguing.
Unapologetically not acoustic, Boats On The Ocean got The Soundhouse rocking. They seemed to escape 70s glam/alt-rock scene to give us a taste of their own medicine and introduce us to their strange struggles with society. A definite standout was Run, recently released single, that makes you want to suddenly get up and sprint ahead thinking of no destination.
Jazzy guitars and vibrant vocals in the cheeky dialogue created a perfect sense of wholeness. BOTO’s musical universe is so alluring that we dive right into and watch it burn with a bright light from the inside-out. It electrifies, occasionally surprises and definitely deserved a bigger crowd.
Watch Boats On The Ocean perform at the gig:
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