SL Records - 10th Birthday @ The Liquid Room
Truax's obvious charisma and heart gives lie to any notions of gimmickry
| 10 Jul 2007
Few Scottish indie labels run the gauntlet between sublime and ridiculous like SL Records. Therefore it is entirely fitting that this – Ed Pybus' imprint's 10th birthday shindig – should frustrate and elate in equal measure. A hive for ramshackle non-conformity, SL has valiantly flown the freak flag high over the past decade, and the line-up for this bash is in keeping with the label's proud tradition of giving the mainstream the middle finger.
Kicking off proceedings, Dawn of the Replicants mainstay Paul Vickers (2/5) delivers a set that veers from coruscating Fugazi-like noise-core to piss-poor beat-poetry and tiresome ditties, managing to expose a few raw nerves before quickly becoming grating. We've seen him on far finer form.
After Vickers' slightly forced discordance, it is down to Thomas Truax (4/5) to inject some genuine wayward magic into proceedings. While his array of homemade instruments gives him an air of gothic eccentricity that wouldn't be out of place in a Tim Burton movie, Truax's obvious charisma and heart gives lie to any notions of gimmickry. Charming vignettes such as Inside the Internet and Full Moon Over Wildtown bring to mind a more techno-savvy Jonathan Richman while Truax's use of a hand-fan to tease haunting swathes of sound out of his guitar on the Butterfly and the Entomologist is truly breathtaking.
Despite their status as Edinburgh indie-darlings, St Jude's Infirmary (2/5) pale into near-insignificance after Truax's tour de force performance – their studied indifference to the audience and reliance on uniform Velvets' changes overshadowing their handful of affecting songs.
A shaky start and finish, but one of the appetisers tonight emerges as SL's secret main course.
Kicking off proceedings, Dawn of the Replicants mainstay Paul Vickers (2/5) delivers a set that veers from coruscating Fugazi-like noise-core to piss-poor beat-poetry and tiresome ditties, managing to expose a few raw nerves before quickly becoming grating. We've seen him on far finer form.
After Vickers' slightly forced discordance, it is down to Thomas Truax (4/5) to inject some genuine wayward magic into proceedings. While his array of homemade instruments gives him an air of gothic eccentricity that wouldn't be out of place in a Tim Burton movie, Truax's obvious charisma and heart gives lie to any notions of gimmickry. Charming vignettes such as Inside the Internet and Full Moon Over Wildtown bring to mind a more techno-savvy Jonathan Richman while Truax's use of a hand-fan to tease haunting swathes of sound out of his guitar on the Butterfly and the Entomologist is truly breathtaking.
Despite their status as Edinburgh indie-darlings, St Jude's Infirmary (2/5) pale into near-insignificance after Truax's tour de force performance – their studied indifference to the audience and reliance on uniform Velvets' changes overshadowing their handful of affecting songs.
A shaky start and finish, but one of the appetisers tonight emerges as SL's secret main course.