This is a post I've been wanting to do for ages, in fact given Maud in Cahoots played at one of my Beautiful Strange nights (at The Gallery Cafe on May 19th) I perhaps should have given this priority to some of the other blogs, but sometimes I don't like to rush out posts and good things come to those who wait...
Maud in Cahoots is primarily the work of Maud and Zoe Reardon, sisters from Dublin, the pair spent a while in New York but now reside in London, with the able assistance of a band of talented local musicians they've recently started performing live around the Capital (after doing the same in New York in 2010) and now with their forthcoming EP streaming online are ready to showcase their abilities to a wider audience, to put it simply, they're all kinds of wonderful...
I can't think of another band that sound anything like MiC, apparent is the classical background, wrapped around their heavenly string-laden tracks are bits of soul, folk and pop, not chart fodder pop but contemporary pop written and delivered by truly talented musicians. The EP highlight is the sumptuous "Further I Go", opening with a lone, sombre organ, amongst restrained drum rolls and glockenspiel twinkles Maud's soulful voice enters, it's sad and affective, the tracks slow pacing gradually building with the addition of tuba and cello, exquisitely structured and delivered, "Further I Go" is a powerful, emotive and beautiful experience, one you'll want to saviour again and again.
Similarly drenched in melancholia are the opening bars of the EP's first track "Make Me Right", this time the intensity is almost immediately increased, bursts of dramatic orchestration duel with Maud's smooth vocals, dancing keys and tuba blasts, soaring and dazzling, I could similarly wax lyrical about the haunting "Breakdown" or the poppier "Push Me Under", where upbeat melodies surge and ignite. Throughout the EP you can't help but get the feeling that you're listening to an act with that 'something' which will propel them to the hearts of many around the world.
I can't recommend their live show highly enough either (for a band who've been performing for a few years there are relatively few youtube videos that do them justice, I've picked one from a recent session for the wonderful Sofar Sounds below), The Gallery Cafe show I promoted saw Maud in Cahoots perform semi-acoustic (though with tuba, glockenspiel, drums and keys alongside Zoe on Cello and backing vocals, Maud on Violin and main vocals it's hardly the definition of acoustic), a full band setup adds guitar and bass to the mix, I'm certainly looking forward to catching that soon. Aside from the obvious ability I've thrown an overbearing number of superlatives at above, Maud was as natural and charming a performer as you could ask for too.
Your next chance to see MiC (probably appealing to the non-England fans) is Monday 11th June at The Dublin Castle - details.
First time I heard about this band. It's very interesting song.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I like the strings in these! There are some nice touches of instruments which only show up in a little bit of the song; I like that compositional style.
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