A couple of legends came together recently at the capital’s most prolific small gig venue.
Mark Gardiner, formerly of 90s shoegazers Ride, showed his songwriting off with an acoustic set which stripped back the feedback and woozy feel of his former act, instead giving us a selection of songs new and old which would easily have held their own in that other movement of that time, Britpop.
From an era before that of his opening act, but never affiliated to one ‘movement’, the one-time Cocteau Twins guitarist and musical driving force showed he has lost none of his touch over the years despite his recording and release schedule being erratic to say the least. There were points in the evening where the rich background of atmospheric would have been an ideal foil for a vocalist such as erstwhile bandmate Liz Fraser (or indeed Violet Indiana’s Siobhan de Maré) but there was enough masterful use of textured sounds built up into mesmeric hooks to leave a crowd of hardcore Cocteau acolytes happy.
The bonus encore which saw Guthrie and Gardiner join forces only added to what was a unique evening.
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.