Meursault and Friends (Withered Hand / River of Slime & Lomond Campbell)

First of tonight’s exclusively Edinburgh based bill is Withered Hand.
Although advertised as a solo set, he is in fact accompanied by Pam Berry of Black Tambourine alongside bass, drums and an accordionist/horn player. They look cramped in amongst the gear of the following acts but sound big.
Rhythmic and very melodic, they play a short 20 minute set consisting mainly of new songs with ‘King of Hollywood’ a particular highlight.
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Our host this evening, Radio 1 DJ Ally McCrae, spins records perched high in the gods as the stage is cleared for River of Slime and Lomond Campbell, also known as Kev Sim and Ziggy Campbell of experimental rockers Found.
Their sound incorporates the expected beats, bleeps and arpeggios of
dance music but stretches it out into something more cinematic which veers from eerie horror to widescreen Enrico Morricone style western complete with harmonica. They end in a blizzard of hi-hat, bass and toms, neatly echoing the wet and windy Edinburgh outside.
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There’s a lot of love in the room for Meursault tonight, with third album
‘Something for the Weakened’ recently long listed for the Scottish Album of the Year award. Kicking off with ‘Flittin’’, the six piece band, made up of guitar, bass and drums alongside keyboard and cello, sounds in fine form.
Neil Pennycook sings as if his life depends on it and proves a captivating and entertaining front man. Aware of his reputation for erring on the melancholic side of things, he announces that Twitter’s Positive Troll is manning the merchandise desk to keep folk cheerful. There are some interesting re-imaginings, most notably a country tinged ‘Crank Resolutions’ and a much faster version of ‘Dull Spark’, deemed “fucking brilliant” by one lady in the audience. The absolute highlight however is the encore, ‘Song for Martin Kippenberger’, which ends with just Neil bellowing the refrain “Please don’t send me homeward / Please don’t send me home” to a captivated audience. It’s truly magnificent stuff.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.