Lux Lisbon - Keeping Me Wild

Stuart Rook - Lux Lisbon

When that initial rush of a new wine touches your tongue you always hope that the subsequent bottle will be as good, if not better, as the first taste. This time last year I caught a couple of tunes from Lux Lisbon at the Queen of Hoxton during a charity concert. The splash that rolled around my musical glass that night was aggressive and refreshing. Luckily what I experienced at The Lexington earlier this month (17/10/2014) was more of the same, in fact, it had improved with age.

Charlotte Austen

Like the Careless Sons, who preceded them onstage, this sold out gig at The Lexington, London was the last of a compact tour. Their 'Memento Mori’ dates took them to Newcastle, Cambridge, Manchester and Nottingham and had warmed this highly original fivesome to a perfect heat for our pleasure.

I cannot commend enough both the group's creativity and their ability to effortless cross genres. The sweep of their themes and the passion behind them was captivating. To be both original and entertaining is a heady mix that one doesn't see at many concerts. This broadening of creative perspectives was only pulled further apart with their use of projected imagery. Many of us, including myself, play with music and film. Experience tells you that it is difficult card to play.



Jamie Shaw

To describe Charlotte Austen as the jewel in Lux Lisbon's crown would be to discredit her as merely a bauble. She is more integral than that and she sparkles amongst Lux Lisbon's fluid sophisticated sound.

I only got an impressionistic sketch of Tom Cooper, his crisp guitar work on 'Demons You Show' which was both strong and soulful. The tribal edge that drummer Jamie Shaw brought to 'Devil got me dancing' was a river that swelled with the voice of Charlotte Austen, and I wasn't the only one to be swept away.



Tom Cooper

It was a return to more familiar territory for me with the jack-in-the-box trumpet of Elliot Phelps on subsequent tunes 'Get some scars' and 'Keep me wild'. The latter, a new tune, was heartfelt and authentic in the hands of lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Stuart Rook. It was a fanfare to outdoor hours at late night parties. You felt the cool grass of an English lawn beneath your feet. The smell of a forbidden lake or river in the air and the irresistible desire to skinnydip.

Lux Lisbon currently have a free download (Get Some Scars EP - Special Edition) available at -
https://luxlisbonsmusic.bandcamp.com/releases

Elliot Phelps

More importantly they have just announced a new live date at the Hoxton Bar and Kitchen on January 28th 2015.  It will be well worth catching if you can. A third of the tickets have already sold and if it's anything like the gig at The Lexington then they will sell-out along time before the date itself.
For more information visit - http://luxlisbon.com/

AL.

Careless Sons - The Lexington

Ben Donnelly - Bass

Rob D'Ath

It was the end of a 7 date tour for the Careless Sons of Rob D'Ath, Ben Donnelly, Dickon Collinson and Stefan Hale at The Lexington, London (17/10/2014) last week. The previous 10 days had seen them visit Cambridge, Manchester, Gateshead, Liverpool, Leeds and Nottingham but hadn't dented their enthusiasm for the sold out crowd before them.


Dickon Collinson

Since that gig they have officially launched their debut EP, Carbon Dating, which is available through Bandcamp for £3 (4 original tracks). If you listen to the tunes though it will not tell the full story. The EP describes rites of passage epiphanies through the melodic pop-rock voice of Dickon Collinson. It is high energy with pulsing guitar waves. It is charismatic.

In the thick of a live performance Careless Sons are more than this.  The Collinson charm cuts the cake rather than being the sweet filling that saturates it. Donnelly has a presence beyond his musical contribution, while Ath's guitar was strong and raw.

It was the contribution of Stefan Hale that created the heaviest pulse of the night. The power of his drums not only balanced the threat of affection in Dickon Collinson's lyrics but also added a physical taste of musical blood in the mouth of the audience.

Stefan Hale - drums

If you would like a taste of Careless Sons yourself then they have just announced a Christmas Party (with mince pies and special guests) at The Islington.
6th December 2014,
7.30pm,
£7,
Tickets here - bit.ly/CarelessTickets

See for yourself.

AL.