Ents and Arts: Music

Live: Clues + Munch Munch + Miracle & The Soul Interpreter @ The Harley, 20/10/2009

By Alexandra Rucki
Published: 26/10/2009

Clues' album artwork

Regular purveyors of fine folk music and indie pop, Children For Breakfast DJs and club night promoters managed to squeeze three live bands into one of Sheffield’s smallest venues.

Miracle & The Soul Interpreter were the first in line of support, consisting of two blokes, with one acting as singer and the other on a laptop. Miracle sings slick r 'n' b influenced tunes, whilst The Soul Interpreter provides minimal electro beats on the laptop. The overall effect is a somewhat bizarre one, and the concept does not really work.

Move onto Munch Munch, last seen in Sheffield at the Tramlines festival. Based in Bristol, their music is chaotic and noisy compromising of four members; two on keyboards and the other two on drum kits. The stage is a musical pandemonium, and sometimes the sound borders on something of a headache. The more enjoyable parts of their performance happen to be when they chant and sing a capella.

The audience are in for a treat when Clues take the stage, who are only playing five venues in total on the UK leg of their tour. They open with ‘Perfect Fit’, taken from their self-titled debut album.

Clues are made up of ex-members of Arcade Fire and Unicorns, who were active for years in the Montreal music scene. They have been building the band up quietly, remaining strictly underground, not even succumbing to a MySpace or Facebook page. Despite this rejection of technology, they do not go out of their way to make their music non-commercial, gaining a perfect blend of eccentricity and ability for the audience to understand them.

‘Remember Severed Head’ is a twitchy, carnivalesque number, created with two drum kits, high-pitched vocals and abstract lyrics. The whole of The Harley is enveloped in noise on penultimate song ‘You Have My Eyes Now’, with drummer Brendan Reed taking over from vocals, and perhaps this song reflecting the most influence from Arcade Fire.

Finishing on ‘Approach The Throne’, an up-tempo piece, they leave the stage on rapturous applause. A great booking for Children For Breakfast, but are they going to be able to beat this?

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