Attention Shoegazers! This Valentines day offers a double bill featuring two of the genres most celebrated artists. Robin Guthrie’s work with Cocteau Twins during the 1980s became the flagship sound of prestigious 4AD Records. Instantly recognisable, although rooted in the foundations of post-punk, Guthrie’s music with the group always reached into more magisterial and revelatory realms, the ethereal quality of his guitar architecture and production style spawning thousands of imitators and entire genres music . It’s an influence that has become more and more pronounced, especially in the current climate of guitar bands; from The xx to Beach House, the hallmarks of Guthrie’s economical and atmospheric approach to the instrument can be felt. Since the collapse of Cocteau Twins, Guthrie has continued to form a formidable legacy, producing for the likes of Lift To Experience and Lush, founding the critically acclaimed Bella Union label as well as finding the time to produce several solo albums and return to his collaborations with the composer Harold Budd. This tour will be his first UK appearance with his trio. What makes this show all the more tantalising is the addition of Mark Gardener, former front man of the much-loved Ride, who will be performing solo material before joining Gutherie for a select few numbers, likely to include their recent single together The Places We Go (listen here). Rounding out the bill is Daniel Land of Modern Painters fame, an artist upon whom the above titans influence can be felt, but whose reflections are void of mere torch-bearing and beautifully his own. Line-ups like this do not come around often.
Robin Guthrie & Mark Gardner – The Places We Go: www.youtube.com
Daniel Land & The Modern Painters – Eyes Wide Shut: www.youtube.com
Fri 14 Feb, Band on the Wall, 25 Swan Street, M4 5JZ. Tel: 0161 830 3884, 8pm, £12, bandonthewall.org
- Words:
- David McLean
- Published on:
- Sun 10 Feb 2013
