REVERANCE FOR BENJAMIN/ LAURA FRANCES @ BLAG CLUB 23/04/08

REVERENCE FOR BENJAMIN

Reverance For Benjamin are two guys who look uncomfortable with being watched. Shy and whispery but much to the benefit of their music they rattle through their four or five songs with a soft, dainty flow that seems as though they're meant to be elsewhere and are worrying about being late. Their music however is lovely, simple acoustic music with a guitar and bass complimented by a voice that has some similarities to that of Ben Gibbard but is far more delicate and prone to breaking.

They manage to hold my attention throughout their short bursts of melancholy, that are only made more despondent by the echo coming from the speakers, that end with an unexpected abruptness. If I wrote any more with this review it would probably take longer to read this than it would for you to have sat through their set, but they left a mark with me, the kind of band that rummage through your memories as you listen to them, coughing up happy times and making you watch them at the back of your eyes with a sad nostalgic glow.

http://www.myspace.com/reverenceforbenjamin

LAURA FRANCES

Laura has only been playing guitar for six months and tonight she stretches everything that she can out of the four chords that she knows. To be on stage alone when you have just that one instrument and so little experience on it is either daft, brave or both, but Laura manages to avoid having to worry about that for, such is the strength of her voice, she could have taken to the stage unaccompanied and held my attention. With a vocal that seems just as comfortable with blues as it does folk, Laura could sing me the BNP manifesto and I'd be a racist bigot by the end of the night. However, instead of just relying entirely on her voice, she has managed to craft a collection of songs that, for the most part, the likes of Katie Melua or Adele would be clambering over each other to get at.

There are lots of acoustic acts out there though and Laura will definitely have to work on her guitar playing if she wants to be sure to stand out from the crowd, while she may also benefit from having some additional accompaniment, as long as it is kept sparse and appropriate. On this occasion though, in front of a crowd that consists mostly of friends and family, Laura can do no wrong and yet, when encouraged by the crowd to do a song about the Incredible Hulk for an encore, I get scared. I, for the most part, truly hate joke songs, but, yet again, Laura manages to shock me. By far the best song of the night the song is one of those intelligent takes on a joke premise and, despite forgetting the words right at the end, she manages to pull it together to end the night perfectly. A great set and a promising artist.

http://www.myspace.com/laurafrancesmusic