The Everyday Gig Review Roundup (May '22)

After a long hibernation, the music scene is officially back and with more than a little spring in its step. And we’re ready for it! With festivals gearing up again, new releases and more gigs than you can shake a stick at, it feels like bands and venues are finally getting back doing what they do best.

So far this month, music editor Fran has been down to The Crypt at the Mount Without for a strange, beautiful, candlelit gig from Quade, Minor Conflict, Orbury Common and The Grey Area.

Minor Conflict - Quade - Orbury Common @ The Crypt, The Mount Without

Friday, May 6, 2022

Words by Fran Pope

Bristol’s St. Michael on the Mount Without is a church converted into an arts and events space, with its crypt now used for performances. And it’s no less welcoming for being—well, a crypt; underground columns, gravestones and all. In fact, it’s warm, enticing and full of cosy corners and inspired flourishes that call attention to the building’s history. The central performance space is small enough to feel intimate, whilst behind the pillars, squashy sofas and low tables provide plenty of comfy areas for time out. Ledges were decked in candles and jarfuls of spring flowers, and almost everyone coming through the door seemed equally impressed by the ambience. As if that wasn’t enough, a DJ set from The Grey Area made for a chilled-out, jazzy opener before the bands came on.

Minor Conflict

You might remember our write-up of Minor Conflict’s April gig at Crofter’s Rights. In the unique space of the Crypt, the different venue, different vibe and very different bands sharing the stage cast Minor Conflict’s set in another light, and it was interesting to notice how the context teased out certain aspects of their style. In particular, the deft juxtaposition of punk, folk and classical elements was even clearer; this felt like the perfect complement to the venue itself, where old and new sit comfortably alongside each other. The mix of harp, synth, drums, trumpet and bass, overlaid with surreal poetry and Natalie’s soaring vocals, was as good as I remember it. Like re-reading a many-layered story, seeing Minor Conflict for a second time came with added depth, and was even more enjoyable than the first.

At the risk of repeating myself – Minor Conflict are brilliant. It feels like they’re picking up momentum, and I’m super excited to see what they do next.

Catch Minor Conflict in Bristol: they’re playing the Crofter’s Rights on 13/05/22, Dareshack on 01/06/22 and The Louisiana on 19/06/22.

Check out their Link Tree for socials, videos and updates, and find the excellent “Office Block” on Bandcamp.

Quade

Headliners Quade came hotly tipped. I’d heard great things about their live performances, and based on tonight’s gig, the praise is entirely merited. Quade’s first single The Balance was released in 2021 and immediately created a buzz; as well as receiving support from NTS Radio, it was picked up by Dior for the soundtrack to their Autumn/Winter Haute Couture catwalk. Tonight’s show marked the release of their second single, a two-parter by the names of Spiral I and Spiral II.

The Bristol fourpiece comprises Tom, Leo, Matt and Barney, whose combined musical backgrounds include Irish traditional music, electronic production and experimental field recordings. Their curiously shape-shifting sound has a kind of epic quality – it feels like it’s bubbling up from the earth. It’s massive and brooding, disquieting and intriguing in equal measure. Described as an “unplaceable combination of folk, post-rock, post-punk, and ambient electronica,” their music brings together a palette of clean, perfectly honed elements: careering loops and stabs of fiddle, rumbling drums, abstract spoken word, skiffling cymbal, rich synths, and bass so deep you feel it in your spine. Slow-building and thoughtful, tracks pulse and swell before breaking into a spare, moody pace.

The focal point of Quade’s set, Spiral – with its spoken lyrics taken from a short story by Italo Calvino – felt like a journey through strange and enticing landscapes. A sense of the wild cut in with the fiddle, visceral shining notes calling up the Irish folk of Tom’s musical background. It was somehow ancient and futuristic at the same time: electronic shards and clouds of echoing synths were balanced by the fiddle and bass, solid as woods and hills. Rich in movement and flashes of light, the swirling deep tones of Spiral were set with gleaming harmonics like chips of ice.

“Atmospheric” doesn’t really do Quade justice. Having only formed during lockdown, they have already built something incredibly impressive, and I hope they’re going to be around for a long time. Standing immersed in their music was a pretty special experience, and I’d go and see them again in a second.

Quade are playing at The Louisiana in Bristol on 26/05/22 (tickets here), and at Moth Club in London on 12/06/22 (tickets here). You can get your copy of Spiral and The Balance on Bandcamp. Other links and socials can all be found on Link Tree.

Photos of Quade are by @tomwhitsonvideos.

Orbury Common

If you were looking for strange and skilful bloops, jangled rhythms and techno bumps, you’d be more than satisfied with Orbury Common’s array of curiosities. But for those who like a rabbit-hole, there’s enough here to tumble into, and then some. Emlyn Bainbridge and Josh Day-Jones, from Bristol and Stroud respectively, invite us into the folk history of Orbury Common – a place that will feel strangely familiar to anyone who grew up in a small town in the English countryside, especially in the south-west, regardless of the fact it’s made up. Or is it?

In a serendipitous common thread between all three of tonight’s bands, past and future were spun together into something both rooted and expansive. Ancient tales, folkways, ley-lines and mysteries hummed underneath the more contemporary electronic textures, while glowing, space-age synths drifted like stardust. Once or twice, floods of cascading blobs filled minutes at a time; tracks bent and crunched in the off-beats; weird field recordings scuffled and scraped; and frayed edges of Gaelic songs were interleaved with cosmic poetry. It was a lot to take in. All that said, there’s more that just completely defies description in Orbury Common’s mirror-world of beautiful oddness.

Track-wise, The Crooked Bayleaf was just mind-bendingly good, catching me right in my Achilles heel of creepy folk-skewed electronic. It was charged and unsettling, and one of my favourite moments of the entire evening. But a close second was Haberdashery, the track that closed out the night. When announced, it was met with wild enthusiasm from the knot of in-the-know audience members – and once they swung into action, it kind of made sense. Haberdashery pounded and rattled, all techno energy and gunky, chopped-up vocals about village life. Even some of the more reserved audience members were dancing with total abandon.

Orbury Common have been releasing music since 2018, and I don’t know how I hadn’t bumped into them yet. Better late than never, though – they were a revelation, and a new favourite for me. I might have almost got lost in the uncanny landscape of Orbury, but the adventure was more than worthwhile.

The Traditional Dance of Orbury Common was released on April 29 on PRAH Recordings – find it on Bandcamp, along with the band’s previous albums and EPs. Check out their Link Tree for all the latest.

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