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Read the rest ยป► Saturday Diary
Words by Jake May 1. Taxi Taxi!
2. Cate Le Bon
3. Yr Ods
4. Stornoway
5. Teeth!
6. The Drums
7. Slow Club
Alas, the final night of Swn was upon us, but the evening had plenty on offer to brush away those premature blues.
My evening started once again in Y Fuwch Goch, a venue that I am still not overly keen on (everything seems a bit too cramped), with Swedish sister duo Taxi Taxi! to a disappointingly small amount of people. Featuring Bjork-like vocals and acoustic sounds, the two piece managed to hush the crowd on the whole with their delicate and bare sounds. The set was disrupted on a few occasions by some incredibly rude bastards talking loudly, as well as a dishwasher which came on at random points throughout the set, but the sisters impressively responded calmly and politely. Quite a shy yet very strong set; quite reminiscent of acts like First Aid Kit. Buy their recently released debut Still Standing At Your Back Door from Fierce Panda Records.
Up next at the now busy Y Fuwch Goch, Cate Le Bon, of guest vocals for Neon Neon’s I Lust You fame. Usually a solo artist, Cardiff-based Cate is joined onstage by a guitarist, bassist, and drummer, as well as Cate’s own contribution of keys, acoustic guitar and harmonica in parts. The set, with a significantly lighter feel than the quite dark and heavy album, has a bit of a Gruff Rhys/Super Furry Animals feels, with some 60s like psychedelia influences to be heard in a few of the tracks, and others having a quite lo-fi feel. Not a bad set, but not overly captivating.
Young six-piece Yr Ods managed to get a seated Dempsey’s on their feet with (what the crowd considered) a highly enjoyable set. The North Wales band, who have songs in English and Welsh, play a slightly generic sounding indie pop, but there originality is given a huge boost by the fact that they sing in Welsh as well as English, something that helps to set them apart from their musical counterparts. Welsh spoken tracks do indeed stand out more than the English spoken tracks, which have hints of The Holloways, with a catchy indie rock pop feel. One gets the impression they may have been booked because of the language they sing their songs, rather than the music they play, but it is always good to see something a bit different.
Stornoway played to a relatively empty Clwb Ifor bach, whilst a cockney salesman for mass girl-group Gaggle tried his best at flogging some of their stuff (of which I felt too bad to refuse). Playing songs including the critically acclaimed ‘On the Rocks’ (of which they opened with) and ‘Unfaithful’, Stornoway were enjoyed by the Clwb crowd, of which included Huw Stephens and Steve Lamacq; playing an easy-listening folk-you can-sway-to set, with a sprinkling of synth.
Teeth! played to a busy Dempsey’s (possibly because they preceded the much awaited The Drums), but struggled to translate their dancey-synth-punk sound from record to live. Their recorded stuff is pretty decent, though, so give it a go!
The Drums played to a packed Dempsey’s, with bouncers literally refusing entry to a gathering queue, along with two air-hostess-dressed backing singers. A highly energetic and somewhat camp stage presence from the American surf-pop group, who played the majority of their songs from the increasingly popular Summertime! EP, who combine the best of The Cure with the music of The Beach Boys. Good, clean fun!
And it was left to folk duo Slow Club to close Swn Fest 2009, to a completely packed Dempsey’s. Their own take on upbeat harmonic folk, along with their pretty lyrics and pop twist, was very well received by the crowd; many singing every word straight back at the male-female duo.
What a weekend. Go next year!
