Alpines at The Louisiana in Bristol - Live music review
Posted on: 2017-02-21
Our rating:
Ice-cool music with plenty of heart from London electro-pop duo Alpines
Touring their new album ‘Another River’, electro-pop pair Alpines arrived in Bristol midway through a series of dates that is taking them around the UK before heading on to various European cities over the next few weeks.
The second album has taken Alpines into slightly more sophisticated territory, with a layer of subtlety and nuance to each track that was perhaps a little less pronounced on their 2014 debut ‘Oasis’. It certainly has a more personal feel, with songs that have clearly been a labour of love for singer-songwriter Catherine Pockson and producer Bob Matthews over the past couple of years.
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With this aspect to their material, the intimate surroundings of The Louisiana were pretty much spot-on for creating the right kind of atmosphere to embrace the real feeling in the songs. Kicking off with ‘Completely’, the set featured a number of highlights including ‘Take Me To The Water’, ‘Another River’, ‘Motionless’ and the superb ‘Stay’. They performed the sublime ‘Heaven’ before a single song encore of the stomping ‘No Other Lover’ to end the evening on a real up-tempo high.
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The band take the visual side of their art very seriously, with very stylistic album artwork and videos that is designed to reflect the music and moods that they endeavour to create. Thankfully, the live performance reveals this to be is far from being form over function. Rather than being a means of hiding any shortcomings, the image is just one important part of the slick overall package that the band delivers - even though the on-stage reality is a far friendlier than the somewhat serious look that characterises their press shots.
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It was impressive to hear the album’s highly polished production transferred so well to the live stage. Alpines enlisted additional help on drums and guitar, giving the sound a depth and shape that simply would not have been there if Pockson had been singing over pre-laid tracks.
As well as being musically faultless, this was also a fine lesson in vocal delivery. Pockson’s distinctive voice and wide range made for a captivating set that was inventive and finely-tuned. It simply flew by.
Rating: 4/5
– Words and photos by Martin Allen
Article by:
As a lifelong music obsessive, Martin brings his extensive journalism experience to bear on reviewing some of the many gigs that make Bristol's music scene one of the liveliest in the country. Originally from London, he spends his time following AFC Wimbledon, tormenting his children with Dad Jokes, and getting out to see as much live music, comedy and theatre as possible.
