The Cardinals are pretty standard indie rock. However, the addition of accordion gives them a slight sea shanty vibe and is by far the most interesting thing about them. It still comes across as too formulaic, and not even this unusual element saves them as everything seems slow and boring. The final track has a decent groove which ebbs and flows, and is probably as engaging as they get.
O.'s Joe Henwood starts their set by laying down some dirty grooves on his bass saxophone whilst Tash Keary comes up with some solid beats. The second track has a '90s gangsta rap vibe and the sound just resonates throughout my body. The third track, a new one, is dancefloor heavy and is amazing. Another new track sounds like an underwater rave. The new material lies somewhere between jazz and hard dance music. Tash's drumming is amazing. It's the first time I've been close enough to watch her properly and she is much more technical than I expected but her playing feels very instinctive too. One of the effects Joe uses on his sax makes it sound like an Eastern European stringed instrument. A squealing saxophone skronk is turned into a hardcore punk number whilst the next minute the sax sounds like a flute on the breakbeat infused new track 'Jigglypuff' (I think I heard that correctly but I could just be obsessed by Pokemon). Everything sounds so fresh and inventive. 'Slice' is insanely good whilst the final track is a terrific alien dub. Absolutely fantastic.
O. *****
The Cardinals **
The Orchestra (For Now) ****
No comments:
Post a Comment