AMS Reviews: New Music Mondays @ The Windmill Brixton
The Windmill stage has witnessed the beginnings of some massive names in the indie/alt music scene – acts like Black Country New Road, Black Midi, and The Last Dinner Party. Last Monday, a few of us not so locked-in Alternative Music Society (AMS) members made our way down to the newly GAIL’s-gentrified Brixton to check out the latest edition of New Music Mondays, a free event showcasing four of London’s emerging bands.
Oseberg
Described on Dice as “warm lo-fi minimalism with a folk-Americana underlay”, the Oseberg quartet moved the evening to a gentle start, featuring melodic finger-style acoustic guitar lines, keyboards, drum brushes, and a mellow trumpet. The vocalist’s broken, lilting phrases were almost Isaac Wood-esque, though they were delivered with far more ease. The band did not quite evoke long gone Viking women (as their name would suggest), but they did give rise to a certain melancholy – or maybe I was already longing for the weekend?
Corin V
Corin V kicked things up a notch after the easy start of the opening act. Led by a long-haired, beanie clad frontman with a sick fingerstyle, the band displayed a lovely blend of technical prowess and deeply personal songwriting, with various songs dedicated to members of the frontman’s family. The songs often got off to slow starts, and exploded midway in delightful bursts of energy. The bassist stood out – his double bass towered over the room as his fingers left no part of the fingerboard unexplored, infecting the windmill with folky jazz influenced art rock-style rhythms.
Starr
Starr was the most interesting act of the evening. The only female-led outfit, Starr and her band of musicians filled the Windmill with a unique sound that flirted with sonic experimentation. The act featured instruments that I did not expect would work together, and one I couldn’t even recognise – an acoustic guitar, a synthesizer, a smooth reverb-y saxophone, and what I can only describe as some sort of groove box with a multitude of plug-in wires, vaguely reminiscent of a telephone switchboard. Starr demonstrated both slow, soft acoustic melodies and bangers with sick beats, propelled by the groove box and layered with the sax, that would go so hard at the club. Starr left us all intrigued, and I do hope I get to experience them again.
Bone China
The only act of the evening with a Spotify profile, Bone China sounded a lot more like a near-finished product compared to the nascent (yet gutsy) attempts of the preceding acts. With a sound lying somewhere between The Neighbourhood and The Arctic Monkeys, Bone China engaged with known musical tropes, but nevertheless put on a strong performance. The frontman certainly looked the part, with pretty, dangling locks – a young, moody Robert Plant. Musically, the guitaring stood out to me – the red Gibson SG with its dark brooding tones sounded pretty sweet, coupled with the frontman’s whispery delivery. They are set to play this Friday (06/11) at MOTH Club as part of this week’s Pitchfork Music Festival.
