No Pasaran
The Tunnels, Aberdeen (April 11th)
By Phillip Quirie • Apr 16th, 2008 • Category:
gigs
“Your guitar’s really gay” – This is the sort of sentiment No Pasaran are frequently up against in Aberdeen. Tonight, however, no such comment is forthcoming. From the very offset, No Pasaran (Spanish for “They shall not pass” – the band will probably suggest this is a reference to Spanish Civil War sloganism, but we all know deep down that it’s a reference to Lord of the Rings) stun the chatty crowd into sensuous silence with singer Malcolm Petrie’s delicate reverbed acoustic guitar intertwining beautifully with Jess Yong’s plucked banjo. Then there’s the relationship between bass and drums. It’s as if they have an on-off love affair with eachother throughout their set; Neil Syme’s off-kilter drumming approach keeps the rest of the band on their toes and prevents complacency, whilst Jim Taylor’s kingly and maurauding basslines give No Pasaran a solid spine from which they will never wriggle free.
Second song “Landing Light” is apparently about as “up-tempo as we’re gonna get” according to Malcolm, and it is their finest song of the evening. It even has fuzzed up bass – this gives their sound a dynamism which is sadly all too-lacking in most folk outfits. That said, are No Pasaran really just a folk band? With songs like “Villages” they display an uncanny ability to write what can best described as quiet, elegiac, and angelic acoustic pop songs. That said, they do regard themselves as “Americana/Country” on their myspace.
New song “Particles” is a delight, with Jess and Malcolm’s vocal relationship coming to the fore as they take it in turns to deliver the vocals, whilst maintaining instrumental interplay between the two acoustic guitars. Is it wrong for melancholy to make me so happy?
They may not be “Americana” or “Country”, but I can tell you that there’s gold in them there mountians.
Phillip Quirie
