Jeremy Smoking Jacket @ Packhorse
By Richard Pilsbury
Two Bristol artists and Leeds' 7 Hertz made their way over to the tiny packed out room above the bar at the Packhorse for a night of fantastic experimental music. I knew nothing of Jeremy Smoking Jacket or Team Brick aside from the one track by each on the compilation I was given at the Brudenell one evening because "I've see you at a lot of gigs." Naturally I was intrigued; this CD-R full of single tracks by Bristol bands caught my interest and stayed in my CD player for a good week. I already knew 7 Hertz were one of the most intriguing Leeds bands having seen them supporting A Hawk and A Hacksaw in a church on Halloween so the decision over whether to go or not was a no-brainer.
Forget the Kaiser Chiefs in fact, let's just forget Leeds' so-called "indie" scene completely. With artists such as David Thomas Broughton and 7 Hertz, it is experimental folk where progress is being made pushing the boundaries and delighting the modest crowds at their shows.
7 Hertz (missing their bassist due to illness and playing without any form of amplification) take more traditional and typically classical instruments, violins, a French horn, and a bass clarinet (and a double bass) and weave together a stunning blend of Celtic/traditional folk, with more European styles and a more contemporary sound that is uniquely 7 Hertz. Their melodies recall the haunting sounds of Vashti Bunyan but their sound more is earthy, organic, and brooding with jazz and blues overtones. Starting with a simple bass-line, they build up their pieces to climax with a warm, full and rich sound that enchants and captivates before moving off on a tangent to hit upon something equally absorbing.
There are only two songs with vocals, which are mostly a capella with some basic accompaniment in the latter stages. If it is possible, these songs are even more extraordinary than the instrumentals. Three beautiful voices harmonise perfectly and the lead, whose voice bears some resemblance to that of Eilza Carthy crossed with that slight roughness of Jana Hunter, sings songs that have nostalgia for rural life. 7 Hertz really are superb, I was taken by their stirring yet mellowing and original chamber-folk the first time I saw them, this time I was convinced I had to have their CD, only to be disappointed when they didn't have any. There's absolutely nothing serious to criticise about them but I would like to hear more vocals on their work, the instrumentals are lovely and very well arranged and hold your interest with no difficulty whatsoever, but they don't quite match up to their songs. A combination of the two without over complicating things would be ideal. Please 7 Hertz; we want CDs next time, thank you.
Team Brick broke my head. There's a fine line between what is music, and what simply classes as sound, Team Brick walks this tightrope and falls off on both sides. Imagine if you will My Bloody Valentine; strip them of all their instruments and vocals so you're left with just the static make that so intense so it makes your ears bleed and your brain shrink back into the deep recesses of your skull. Cut it all out, and throw in some throat singing, some vomiting-like sounds then distort that with guitar pedals then add some feedback and you're somewhere in the same ball park as the total head-fuck that is Team Brick. This might not sound much like a description of music and it is and it isn't. He plays a single drum, a bit of accordion and a keyboard that he found in a bin still with batteries and there is some semblance of music... to begin with at least. He takes these sounds and his voice and sends them through 4 guitar pedals so they progress through different stages and types of noise, it's a bit like what I imagine walking around a factory full of screaming, malfunctioning machinery with no one trying to shut it down is like. His vomit sounds and throat singing, for lack of better description, brought laughter to the crowd and most people were offended by the noise and some even resorted to putting their fingers in their ears. Whilst it does hurt to listen to, there's something unexplainable there, something that just drew me in. I can't explain or rationalise it and by rights I should have all been cowering in the corner crying, gently rocking back and forth trying to find my happy place, hoping for the nice doctor to come and give us some medication. Instead I was intrigued. I doubt it'll ever be something I want to listen to at home, but for a one off, I'm glad I've experienced Team Brick.
Thankfully, our ears had stopped bleeding by the time Jeremy Smoking Jacket took the stage. JSJ is a relatively new collaboration between SJ Esau and Rose Kemp and so whilst some songs were with all three members, the set was split into two. To do justice to Jeremy Smoking Jacket would be to write a summary of every single song as each one is different and no broad description is really applicable, but I'm not going to do that as it would bore both me and you.
Their sound is comprised of some, all or none of the following: drums, trumpet, a synth, clarinet, guitar, bass, tape recordings of speech from the radio and a mannequin (!), not to mention Rose's lush vocals and those of the two guys. Using looping of instruments and vocals and crossing so many styles in the space of their set and adding an experimental and novel edge to each one the indescribable JSJ pleased the crowd with their accessibility, deep, resonant sound, bittersweet vocals, harmonies, counter harmonies, sampling, vocalised rhythm sections, darkness, brightness, simplicity, distortion, feedback, clarity, pop, rock, folk and jazz... to list just a few of the words that I can't manage to string together into something adequately descriptive. There were several highlights of what was a very good performance, but what sticks most clearly in my mind was a cover of Tom Waits' No One Knows I'm Gone using a sample of Rose coughing as the main accompaniment to her vocals, with some trumpet gently supplementing it towards the end. I think Tom would be proud to have his song re-worked in such a simple, interesting and effective way.
Jeremy Smoking Jacket really have to be seen to be understood and my ramblings really aren't adequate, I've re-written this part of the review many, many times and I'm still not happy with it. I'll summarise: they were very good. Overall, it was an astonishing night of experimental avant-garde music, with a wonderful variety of styles. I'm already looking forward to when Rose returns to Leeds next month with some more Bristol weirdos and you should be too.
