Londonist Live: School Of Language

By Amanda Last edited 189 months ago
Londonist Live: School Of Language
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The last Friday of every month the function room at St. Aloysius Social Club is given over to the club night Tapestry. Music spanning genres and decades fills the comfortable church basement and bands take to the low, streamer strewn stage, and for a few hours the Somers Town space feels like it belongs someplace a bit further east.

While a quartet of young women harmonizing classic folk tunes and Prince covers were in all seriousness very charming, the main attraction of the evening was School of Language, the new project from David Brewis of Field Music.

Brewis had a rhythm section to back him Friday night on a set of tracks from the debut Sea From Shore, as well as a cover of Roxy Music’s “If There Is Something.” The set opened with “Rockist,” in full drama and alphabetic back vocals. “Rockist” perfectly set the tone - alternating between mellow and soothing and bursting with the energy contained. As on the album, the evening was suitably ended with another part of the “Rockist” quadrilogy.

Sometimes the guitar noise is a bit harsh, sometimes it has a summery, surfy tone, and sometimes there are big sounds that seem like they should fill stadiums. But Brewis himself is none of these things: focusing on the many switches between different pedals but otherwise relatively limited in his movement and reticent between songs. It wasn't for lack of enthusiasm or energy, but for a change it was a mark of someone lost in his music, and the audience obligingly followed suit.

Photo by Amanda Farah.

Last Updated 30 June 2008