And here’s another ‘A and B’ band, fresh from the wilds of Scotland- the Moth and The Mirror.
They’re a five-piece, and feature the sort of folk-tinged indie pop that’s become popular since the days of Idlewild and Travis- a bit of crunchy indie guitar here, some impassioned Scottish vocals there, a little bit of Violin, xylophone and perhaps the occasional banjo or woodwind section scattered across their songs. It’s nicely done, well arranged, maybe a little tastefully competent here and there, but they do know how to rock out from time to time as well. If there’s a musical agenda, it’s all about showcasing the songs and the singer.
Stacey Sievwright (pictured, right)is a good lead vocalist, her voice sweet and strong with a little hook of yearning in it. ‘Soft Insides’ shows this off to great effect, where the terribly sad line ‘You hold someone/they don’t hold you back’ gets me every time I hear it. She’s tugging at the heartstrings without histrionics, and her willingness to just let her voice carry the song without too much in the way of histrionics or affectation (or overly-accentuated, more-Scottish-than-thou vocals which just end up making ever band north of the border sound like Roddy Woomble)
The songs are good, too-Current single ‘Fire’ has the great yearning, catchy hook- ‘Thoughts of you/Keep Me Warm’ sung over and over like a mantra, like someone clinging to hope.
And there is an optimism running through them- on ‘Everyone I know’ you they start out sounding a bit doomier, all chiming guitars and thudding new wave drums, Sievwright’s lyrics talking about ‘Blue Eyes Turning Black’ and ‘I don’t have the heart for this.’
By about a minute and a half in, she’s singing ‘you’ll be ok’ over and over again.
That seems to be the key to her as a songwriter, and to this band as a whole. Their songs tell you that life is a grind, a hard, hard slog, and whilst things may be fragile, they know you have to cling on to that determination to keep things together, to keep forcing on. That’s sweet, and it’s powerful, and long may their struggle continue.
