The Veils/Alessi’s Ark/So Say So, London Macbeth

February 5th, 2009

Unsigned band So Say So open tonight’s proceedings with some clever indie-pop. Fronted by a girl-guy combo each with a keyboard, and backed with a tight rhythm section and a clever guitarist, this London group ticked a lot of boxes. Choppy, sectional songs echoed Blur circa 1993 and, latterly, Field Music – a band that we’ll be keeping an eye on for sure.

Alessi’s Ark, a favourite of this website and particularly loved by this writer, was playing only her second UK show with her current live band. The sound wasn’t too great in this packed Hackney pub, and the masses who were waiting for The Veils weren’t overly receptive, but Alessi’s performance was gracious and accomplished. The diminutive 18-year-old is one of folk’s freshest flowers, whose delicate songs are littered with banjo-picking, harp-plucking, childlike vocals and poetic streams of thought, and whose subjects cover nature, punctuation and the innocence of love.

‘The Horse’, the lead single from the EP of the same name, is a beautiful two-minute delve into the world of the Ark, with percussive clip-clops and vocal interplay: “I was told that kite flying’s for lovers”. The animals went in two by two, so they say, so follow the rulebook and introduce a friend to the mystical Alessi’s Ark.

A band who are signed to Rough Trade, and who are onto their third long-player, rarely get as overlooked as The Veils. The Kiwi four-piece (now based in London) specialise in a brand of intense rock that could put Conor Oberst to shame, as frontman Finn Andrews‘ powerful voice authoritatively infers. The vocal strength, solid buzzing guitars and jazzy chord progressions have won the band comparisons with Jeff Buckley, but this is referential at best. After demoing new tunes in Oklahoma in the Flaming Lips’ studio, The Veils returned to London to complete their third album, Sun Gangs, due for release in April.

Tonight’s set incorporated a happy mix of new and old, with fresh songs ‘Sit Down By The Fire’ and ‘Three Sisters’ and classic blasts from their name-making album Nux Vomica such as ‘Calliope’ and ‘Advice For Young Mothers To Be’. Maybe with the coming of Sun Gangs, The Veils will no longer be London’s great unknowns.