Sennen Live - The Firestation Sept 5th

 

So, Ignition!, Muhead's new breaking bands night, kicks off at The Firestation in Windsor, starting a whole new wave of live music in the town. The Firestation, previously Windsor Arts Centre, has just been awarded a much needed image lift, bringing it a generation or so forward into the present and this opening night sets the benchmark for great music by featuring two impressive up-and-coming bands: Sennen and The Race.

The impressive sound system makes the small room feel like an exclusive gig as opposed to a spare space and the crowd is refreshingly young. No surprise then that the place is soon full of energy as The Race take to the stage. The Reading based band, signed to Oxford indie stayers Shifty Disco, are an exciting mix of Snow Patrol and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. But don’t pass them off as another indie clone. The Race do their own thing with big driving rhythms and anthemic melodies.

Front man Dan Buchanan unabashedly dances where the music takes him, playing his glockenspiel with all the intensity of an excited child. His raspy, enthralling voice combines perfectly with backing singer and guitarist Jessica del Rio’s, who stomps around like PJ Harvey. The Race are one of those bands you just know will be famous – great stage presence, great style, great songs. You heard it here first..

Sennen are big Mogwai fans and the influence is undeniable, yet they’ve added their own flavor by including delicate and mesmeric vocals and their songs are full of sumptuous harmonies and lulling melodies. What is so intriguing about Sennen is their development of the genre that Mogwai mastered. They take the idea of simple, beautiful melodies and play with it on vocal parts and rock riffs. The result is a dreamy and eclectic gig.

The two frontmen Laurence Holmes and Richard Kelleway sing gorgeous harmonies, adding an ethereal element which stirs the senses, while bass player Andrew Horner masters the pedals and plays with the atmospheric drone. Even when they slip into a more mainstream indie/rock sound they still kept to the Mogwai-esque mood. Their stage presence is a little unconfident, but their music leaves no doubt that these guys are on their way up. Keep an ear out for them in the near future.

More Ignition! details and other live stuff at www.firestationartscentre.com.

Hannah Master-Waage

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