Upon arriving at Komedia I ask the barman if they expect it to be a busy evening. “They've sold about 200 of 250 tickets. We've put some chairs out to fill the space a bit." Reassuring.
The stage is dimly lit with a fairy like ambience and an array of unusual musical equipment, including a wooden box with forks poking out of the surface. As I settle myself at the front of the venue, I am eased into the evening by the charming Siobhan Wilson; who transfixes her audience with her Gaelic infused vocals. Angelic is too humble an account of Siobhan’s vocal abilities. I myself have not heard such clarity in a vocal range and she achieves it with effortless charm. She creates a nice solid landscape alone but I found she was lacking something for me on the piano and I missed her performance behind her guitar – still, it was an engaging performance and I will be looking out for news of her future performances.
After a short break it was Lau’s turn to take to the stage. Their accordionist, Martin Green, Kris Drever – guitar and Aidan O’Rourke on fiddle stand silently behind their eclectic stage layout in silence as the sample of a ticking clock fills the room. The trio begin to build a mixture of unseemingly coordinated and complex layers of strings, accordion and guitar- a sound is created as though it is being played through a gramophone. Having not seen the band before I didn't know what to expect, but it soon became apparent that their layered instrumentals are something they have honed as part of their sound. They trigger natural samples that resonate texture the song of a wind chime, wood against glass, sand underfoot – all distorted through their box of tricks so that the samples are almost indistinguishable from their roots.
Lau are no stranger to the traditional and with the sound they create you would be led to believe that we had all been teleported to a local pub in the highlands – with hands clapping and foot stomping, the crowd are more than happy to accompany the band in their frenzied on stage performance. Their set was filled to the brim with intervals of banter, Kris speaking of gas masks down your pants (don’t ask!) to which Martin Green interjects, “The journeys down the M6 are just a joy.” Lau’s musicianship is excellent, and the suspended clutter of sounds meant the audience were on a knife’s edge at all times. The harmonics and rhythms worked seamlessly alongside their electronic samples coalescing to create a distorted soundscapes. To echo Graeme Virtue’s review at City Halls in Glasgow, their sound at times resembled that of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Lau’s performance left me gasping, they are relentless, amiable in their nature and dazzling live. This was my favourite gig of the year!
Alexandra Lea
Website: lau-music.co.uk