Tonight is the first headlining gig in Manchester for Cherry Ghost aka Simon Aldred and his elite squadron of musicians performing tracks from his debut album soon to be released on the Heavenly label.
First up is Jay May who sounds like a cross between Joan Wasser and Michelle Shocked. She uses her mouth like a harmonica to deliver her tales of ill Will people and her ode to Big Ben, a departed friend.
Then it’s time for the main set. I’m a new Cherry Ghost fan and an expectant one. What I don’t anticipate is a big rumbling spinal tap start. Lights are flashing on and off and there is a big wall of sound accompanying the entrance of the five musicians. Simon starts by strumming his acoustic guitar like it’s a banjo accompanied as he is on keyboard, bass and drums. It’s a mix of indie, country and bluesy folk rock. By the time he plays ‘My God Betrays’ he has switched to electric and reverberating synth sounds are filling the place.
‘Roses,’ is a tale of blushing brides and cosmonauts. Crashing guitars accompany ‘Mountain Bird.’ An immediate comparison would be Richard Hawley but there are traces of Johnny Cash in his voice too.
‘Cut Throat Serenade,’ is very spiky, like The Waterboys meets Grinderman. ‘Hard times, hard times, hit you like a punch line,’ he expounds over crashing cymbals.
Simon is no raconteur. He avoids the need to chat, although touchingly his relatives are here pointing out the fact that his pants are falling down. ‘I’m down with the kids’ he states shyly before jerking around the stage awkwardly to show them off.
There is a psychedelic intro to ‘Help The People,’ the new single. Next comes the reason why I am here. From the first moment I heard the debut single ‘Mathematics’ I was hooked. It’s a tale of ‘peacocks on the chopping block,’ beginning with a besotting string melody that could well introduce the Cocteau Twins. Chimes and solid backbeats complete the live version. The vocals are epic and searing like Scott Walker with a twist of Ian McCulloch. He brings new life into a good old-fashioned crooner, but updates it with occasional muffled electronic effects.
‘Four eyes,’ is a love story about a short-sighted couple. From the next song comes the lyric, ‘I’m weak as a kitten and strapped to the tracks of the train’ He’s got a nice turn of phrase that lad! Like Elbow doing Destiny’s Child, the encore is a ‘silly cover’ of Ce Ce Peniston’s ‘Finally.’
Cherry Ghost cite influences such as Sparklehorse, Daniel Johnston, misfits, fuck ups, kids and old folk. You can hear ceaseless hope in the differing genres that he mixes up tonight. His workaday yet shrewd lyrics are captivating. Anyone who expected understated acoustics would have been surprised by the intensity of tonight’s performance. The world simply needs more people who can sing and play like this.
Do believe the hype. If he asks you to meet him on the corner by the fire escape, for god’s sake accept!
http://myspace.com/cherryghostband
FFO: Richard Hawley, Liam Frost and the Slowdown Family, Scott Walker, Sparklehorse, Willie Nelson, Ian McCulloch, Polytechnic, Wilco
Mandy Williams
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