Admiral Fallow - Buffalo Bar, Cardiff - 15th May 2012 (Live Review)
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Written by Dave Ball
Cardiff’s Buffalo Bar is the type of establishment that would describe itself as the coolest place in Cardiff with the downstairs providing one of the trendier bars in the capital. Venture upstairs and you’ll find a narrow room, made narrower by its’ blood red painted walls and ceiling (even the lampshades are red) adorned by scattered black & white images of various musicians past and present. With a capacity of around 150 it’s one of the more intimate venues in the city and this is where tonight’s headliners Admiral Fallow have chosen for just their second ever visit to Wales.
Scriber provides support. A lonely looking figure on stage, with just a guitar, his minimalist songs of gently plucked strings and haunting vocals start promisingly but he’s slowly defeated by a rising level of chatter as his songs struggle to maintain the attention of the majority. His debut single ‘Holland House’ does stand apart from the others though. If you like your singer-songwriters dark and broody then check out his ‘bedroom live’ set on YouTube.
There’s no doubting the audience’s attention when it’s time for Admiral Fallow however. The Glaswegians have made quite a name for themselves since debut album ‘Boots Met My Face’ was released just over a year ago with a string of impressive festival sets. They’re here to promote soon to be released (Monday 17th May to be precise) album ‘Tree Bursts In Snow’ which is where the bulk of the set is drawn from.
Squeezing all six of them onto the stage is a challenge as they ride a slow building, almost orchestral intro into the lead single from ‘Tree Bursts….’ ‘The Paper Trench’ following it with fan favourite ‘Subbuteo’ from their debut. It’s immediately apparent that this is not a band who deal in simplicity as they move through layers upon layers of music, all punctuated by lead singer Louis Abbott.
It’s very easy to just label them as ‘Elbow with Scottish accents’ as their songs have the same soaring, epic nature about them but it’s the contrasting harmonies that keep them interesting. What sets them apart from their peers in a growing stable of harmonising folk bands though are the efforts of Kevin Brolly when he switches from keyboard to clarinet, and particularly Sarah Hayes. Her work on flute and accordion adds even more depth to songs which are already dense with texture, while her silky smooth vocal sits perfectly alongside Abbott’s growling, heavily accented Scottish brogue.
Of the new tracks, next single ‘Beetle In The Box’ picks up the pace a little, ‘Isn’t This World Enough??’ brings in some crowd interaction while ‘Brother’ sees drummer Philip Hauge let loose from his shackles, tearing into the beat like a greyhound released from it’s traps as he pounds away with glee. Set closer ‘Oh, Oscar’ shows they haven’t abandoned their gentler side as it provides the most delicate moment.
Struggling admirably through technical problems throughout the night, an acoustic version of ‘Four Bulbs’ is played with just a single acoustic guitar as the six stand side by side. The harmonies are strikingly beautiful and balanced perfectly, made all the more impressive as it’s clear they become more uncomfortable with the sound throughout the night.
They finish with a short encore of ‘Old Balloons’ which grows and crashes to a huge crescendo before closing with their twice released single ‘Squealing Pigs’, a track that sounds like the type of song Mumford & Sons wish they’d written and gets the entire room jigging about.
It’s an excellent performance by a band on the rise. Their new album shows the type of growth many other bands in their genre have failed to expand into and you come away feeling that they will only sound better as they move into bigger venues which are better suited to hosting live music.
Admiral Fallow’s new album ‘Tree Bursts In Snow’ is available from Monday 17th May. For a preview you can stream the album here.
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Squeezing all six of them onto the stage is a challenge as they ride a slow building, almost orchestral intro into the lead single from ‘Tree Bursts….’ ‘The Paper Trench’ following it with fan favourite ‘Subbuteo’ from their debut. It’s immediately apparent that this is not a band who deal in simplicity as they move through layers upon layers of music, all punctuated by lead singer Louis Abbott.
