THE DIVORCEE
If you’re going to introduce someone to heavy music for the first time chances are you wouldn’t start with the Divorcee, as to the untrained ear their disjointed hardcore may leave you a little unnerved, but the reality is they have in fact always been pretty damn good – not just at being loud and noisey but delve deeper into the chaotic numbers and there’s a lot of technical playing in there too.
Tonight though was just as much about Tim Birkbeck making his hometown debut as lead screamer, the band are now on their 3rd vocalist with Birkbeck replacing Daniel Ryan (who, without getting into the politics, was forced to return back home to Australia thanks to our bitch of a government…).
So whilst the Divorcee introduced us to a couple of new tracks having been originally written with Dan, they have gained a worthy replacement in Tim who after a couple of tunes was soon shouting his lungs out like the best of them.
CARL KAVORKIAN
Starting with a basic drum loop and screaming into the microphone, I thought we were in for an experimental Death Grips (after all Carl was listed as “for fans of” the Californian act on the events page) but with a confident vocal delivery and a little box of tricks providing the backing tracks the lyrics began to flow like a true old school hip hop artist.
Having travelled over from the USA to perform on this UK tour, Carl Kavorkian may have seemed out of place to follow the hardcore antics that had preceded him but there was still an influence of heavy metal when it came to growling like a dog, along with dirty beats when the bass kicked in.
Where other artists may include samples, Carl would use unique styles to deliver alternate vocals before spitting out another rhyme over the top of more complex sound production, there are some who may question having mainly pre-recorded backing tracks rather than a live DJ but that’s not the case here, for this MC is clearly a talented producer and times his lyrics perfectly whilst loving the odd moment to interact with the small crowd (I say “feeling” you say “fine”)… check out his collaborative album “The Happiest Sad Face” with the German based Lou Cypher.
SLEEP BEGGAR
Following Carl Kavorkian was to be the UK’s Sleep Beggar, who is currently sharing the tour dates with his American compadre and it’s a combination that seems to work, as whilst both are ultimately MC’s they approach it from different angles.
There’s a fine line between being hip hop and being a rapper, although I’d put Sleep Beggar as the latter he is maybe a little more reflective and poetic. Introducing songs to give them more context and meaning, they would often be about our alternative sub-cultures or turning around times of self doubt into something positive… plus he had a bloke on stage hiding behind a laptop and a mass of hair.
BEARDED YOUTH QUEST
It was then back to the guitars to close the evening, this time around with some prog/math rock in the form of Bearded Youth Quest, they’re more accessible than how the night started out but are certainly non the less entertaining.
They not only show great musicianship but are clearly enjoy themselves on stage and whilst their set is comprised fully of instrumentals, one of the three guitarists in James Hollins naturally takes up the role of front-man and with the cheerful persona of an excitable game show host.
As the term math-rock suggests it can be all very calculated but with Bearded Youth Quest they feed off each other almost instinctively, even down to when drummer Andy Baker decides to make for some amusing timing to put off his stringed band-mates making it near impossible not to enjoy.
So as another Wednesday night in the Edge of the Wedge proved, throw four random acts together into a small room and the chances are you will discover more talent than if you look at who’s topping up the hit parade… but who knows, tracks such as “Banana Flip-flop” may just bring about that illusive top spot we’ve all secretly been looking for.
