Love In The Asylum Kensington Roof Gardens, London 21/1/11
3/5
By: Richard Brant
“We’re playing the Kensington Roof Gardens on Fri 21st Jan at 8pm, La-di-da Darling” it said on Love in the Asylum’s MySpace blog. La-di-da indeed… Having heard about the Kensington Roof Gardens, but having never actually set foot in them before, I already knew of its luxurious reputation as a picturesque, calm, setting, flamingos n’ all (as in the birds!) right in the heart of High Street Kensington. It was therefore quite the intriguing prospect to see how a showcase for new music would fit in to this mild oasis more familiar with a suit and tie than a pair of my crappy trainers and jeans.
My initial impressions did nothing to dispel these preconceptions with a queue of sharply dressed punters waiting outside to go in to their respective drinking establishments housed on the sixth floor. Walking through shiny cream marble like corridors to reach the gardens I could already tell this wasn’t going to be your average “indie club night.”
After paying my respects to the gardens and the spectacular view of a lit church steeple placed centrally in the distance I was ushered towards a white marquee like venue that held within a bar that looked “awfully trendy” accompanied by a matching bar price.
In the adjoining room taking to the stage was Nataylie Roni whose chilled soulful voice matched its surroundings, while next up Edd Garrett maintained the atmosphere with a folk twist. Having heard some Love in the Asylum tracks previously, I wasn’t sure how they would fit in to this line up as the 80’s funky pop played out of the speakers on the lead up to the opening of their set.
The room was really quite full by this point and opening with ‘Hay Hay’ it was clear there was going to be no compromises made as the 60’s organ pulse and chain gang like vocals shook through the room. A calypso tinged number ‘Gold Hands’ soon followed matching their loud retro tropical shirts and it wasn’t long before another genre line had been crossed to the pop rock hooks of ‘Bonfire Heart.’
The strength of Dan Dunne’s vocals cannot be questioned and they were in full flow as Specials-tinged tune ‘Hangover’ began with an eerie organ that rumbled in to a chorus that unleashed said vocals with Nirvana-like venom. Dunne suddenly exclaimed “here’s a new one we’ve been working on” as he stepped back allowing bassist Charlie Elliot to take centre stage. The result was ‘On My Own,’ an enjoyable, pacing, punk track complimented fittingly by the change to Elliot’s contrasting voice.
To finish were three more familiar tunes heard on the EP sampler that has been doing the rounds. ‘Bumble Fish’ provided the pop rock hooks while ‘Pull the Plug’ allowed the harmonies and Dunne’s gruff tones to run riot over a tropical rock blues blast. In a finale ‘Tommy’ was let loose with the stage energy passing amongst the members of the crowd, the caressing organ ringing out and duel vocals hitting the familiar tune home.
It did seem to me that there were a lot in the audience who were already fans, and I would be intrigued to see how these songs fair in an environment where the crowd is there to be won, but they certainly do have a number of elements going for them that could push them on further. The vocals, the variety of musical influences amidst the set and obvious willingness to experiment give them grounds to build.
It’s of course still early days, but a little more prominence given to their penchant for variety and diversity of sound could see what is already a good set become great.
Artists in this article: Love In The Asylum
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