ARTIST: The Readers
SUPPORT: A.P.E
VENUE, TOWN: The Foundry, Shoreditch, London
DATE: 03 December 2009
RATING: 4/5
FIVE WORD REVIEW: A Mangled Exploration Through Culture
MAIN REVIEW: The other week I took time out from a rather stagnant music scene in York (where folk acts and pub bands seem to be the fashion of the day) and travelled down to London, where lets face it, every man and his dog has a band or act they desperately want to share with the general public. I wound up at The Foundry in Shoreditch, a sprawling pub come art centre, full of interesting nooks and crannies, and sat myself in a corner to watch the night’s proceedings. Nothing seemed to be happening till a man in coat and scarf who had been prowling the room sneering at anyone within eyeshot took to the mic and began repeating the words “Fuck, Bastard, Cunt, Bitch, Cock” over and over and over again till the entire audience had zoned out and blocked him from their consciousness. Art? Annoyance is the description I prefer. Next up were three piece Jazz ensemble A.P.E who bashed out a shapeless cacophony of hyped up freestyle. Technically tight and knowledgeable they were, but it lacked definition or voice, songs bleeding into each other so much that the journey was lost. Brief periods would click and the blasts of brass, bass and drums could devastate but that was quickly moved along into another passage of noodling. Good fun maybe, but I guess I expected more.
By this point I was hoping The Readers – an art/music group from the deepest depths of cultural London – would deliver the goods. And luckily they did. The group took up different positions within the venue and began their odyssey, dressed in such garb as duct tape, wrestling masks and tailcoats. Their music had an ethereal element to it, floating and morphing but never quite taking shape. There were moments where everything seemed to take shape and inspire, but these were ripped out of the audiences grasp before they could feel comfortable. Looking around the room people’s reactions would turn from bemusement, to confusion, to joy, and then to studious contemplation all within one song, and it was interesting to find such reactions and participation from a public who seem quite bored and discontented with the musical scene of late. I couldn’t quite put my finger on a particular sound or influence (which is always good) but will have to settle with (unfortunately) a cross between the Art of Noise and The Butthole Surfers: the decadence and forward thinking of eighties pop with the mind melting noise and experimentation of the great post punk bands of yesterday. After the performance I felt confused and lost, which meant for great discussion with other punters on all aspects of culture, media and music; and to The Readers, I’m sure that’s a job well done. If you’re looking for songs with hooks and melodies and structure, buy a copy of the NME and see which band they’re fellating this week, but if you wish to see an act that will swallow you up, chew on you in their collective mouth, and then spit you out in a erratic and frightened mess, then give this lot a chance. They will have you thinking about it all for a very long time after they’ve packed up their instruments and toddled off home. Exciting stuff indeed.
LINKS: Official Website // MySpace
– David Gullon
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