New To Q Sessions - Day 2, Alex Gardner, I Blame Coco, Miike Snow.
The inaugural New To Q Sessions has reached its second day, and with it two headliners who both have been tipped for great things by a collective choir of music critics.
Photos: Alex Gardener, I Blame Coco and Miike Snow at New To Q Sessions
Preparing us for tonight's joint-headliners at Notting Hill's eccentric The Tabernacle is the Paolo Nutini-endorsed Alex Gardner, who elegantly overcomes technical problems and treats the incoming crowd to a blend of guitar-based easy listening, all layered with his soft and soulful voice.
I Blame Coco then, is famously fronted by (or rather, is) Coco Sumner, the daughter of - as one broadsheet put it - "one of the most eminently slappable celebrity couples on the planet." She's yet to emerge from her teens, and has only a handful of songs to her name, but has already adorned the covers of several magazines, courtesy of her career in fashion. Tonight however, she's a pop 'n' roll star.
And for the next 30 minutes or so, The Tabernacle is taken for spin down that road marked '1985', where image is all, electrodisco is king, and Coco Sumner is the Queen Of Cool. Abandoning the the influences of reggae so prominent on her demos, I Blame Coco is tonight more dancefloor than faux-bohemia, undoubtedly inspired by the surroundings of the Stockholm studio, where her forthcoming debut was recorded.
"Dance, I want you to dance!" Coco commands, smiles being ferociously absent throughout the set. The band rattle through a fascinating set of hook-filled pop songs, and they are as such good at what they do, but would naturally be nothing without their frontwoman. Only with the remarkably unnecessary inclusion of rapper Plan B on current single Caesar (Robyn's original backing track still very much present), as well as an
acoustic encore, does the set cross into the land of 'meh', but by then, thankfully, we are more than convinced of Coco's potential and uniqueness.
No easy task then, for Swedish/American trio Miike Snow, two of who wrote Britney's Toxic, and one who makes a point of bringing a cup of tea onstage. What seems odd, however, is their choice of entering the stage in seemingly matching outfits and white masks after having rigged their own equipment a few minutes earlier with faces clearly on display. A loosely based concept perhaps, but when they simultaneously rid themselves of their masks third song in, one does wonder how slack a concept can get.
Doubling their manpower for this live set, their Nordic electropop is given a more bombastic overhaul, with the bearded quirkiness of singer Andrew Wyatt being a visible centrepoint between band members who enthusiastically hammer away at synths & samplers, and one whose low-riding trousers remain that bit too low throughout the concert.
They steadily run through almost the entirety of the eponymous debut album, adding new and grander sections where needed. Their showmanship is certainly present, stopping mid-song with a 'thank you', only to launch into the chorus a second later, and they remain a focused and attentive act throughout an exhaustive set which, has many glimmers of excellence, albeit some not quite in full flight yet.
So when Coco Sumner appears for a great version of Animal, arguably the highlight of their performance, it becomes clear anyone that dashed off early to beat the tube missed out.
Words: Brand Barstein
Photos: Alex Gardener, I Blame Coco and Miike Snow at New To Q Sessions
Previously:
New To Q Sessions - Day 1: Delphic, White Rabbits, The Cheek
2:55 PM | 28/01/2010
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