| CD REVIEW The Irrepressibles |
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Band : The Irrepressibles Although this London based British musical ensemble (and I use that term for a reason, as I will explain shortly) has been around for 7 years now, this is only their first full-length album. Mastermind behind the 9-headed band is one Jamie McDermott, composer, singer, and acoustic guitarist. Well, the terms “ensemble” and “composer” might’ve lifted a piece of the veil already, and if you were thinking that there might be a Classical side to this outfit, you nailed it…at least partly! You see, where as the instrumentation is certainly Classical (somewhat Baroque to be precise) with violin (Jordan Hunt), viola (Charlie Stack), cello (Nicole Robson), oboe (Craig White), flute (Rosie Reed), clarinet (Anna Westlake), piano (Sarah Kershaw) and stand-up bass (Sophie Li), the outcome is very Pop oriented, something which is occasionally enhanced by the use of saxophone (Westlake) and (organ) keyboards (possibly Kershaw now, used to be an additional band member)…but most of all by the songstructures of the tunes themselves, ànd McDermott’s operatic falsetto voice, which has already been likened to such artists as Jeff Buckley and Antony Hegarty (of Antony & The Johnsons). Bands with a vocalist in the same line include Mika and Queen (Freddy Mercury era). The band’s sound, weirdly enough, has apparently been compared to the likes of David Bowie, Kate Bush, and even Bonzo Dog Do Dah Band (that one most probably by a reviewer whom found that band in the list of influences the band names on their MySpace page?)…but you’ll find the Irrepressibles (a statement, that bandname, for sure?) to sound like nothing you’ve ever heard before! McDermott started the project with a completely different set of musicians, which have since split due to being neglected by the music business in spite of rave reviews in British Underground press. Luckily, he was able to enflame a new bunch of musicians with his musical and theatrical vision. Because on stage this ensemble occasionally becomes a veritable circus act. You see, on stage, the musicians will get dressed up in rather magical outfits and have their hairs done in the weirdest of hairdos (like a cross-over of ‘80s Sigue Sigus Sputnik with things of a fairytale story…McDermott himself dressing in a more colourful Pierrot-like outfit with appropriate make up. But the band will also occasionally perform with a veritable circus act, actually a troupe of high-level dancers, whom also take to the stage in multi-coloured outfits and imaginative make-up. Evidently, the Classical side to the music simply màkes it fitting for ballet, and it must be really something to see the band perform on such occasions! With lyric topics that are made up from McDermott’s confessional stories of love, lust, anger and loss, it’s amazing the overall melodramatic feeling of the album doesn’t start to get boring halfway through the album, but there you have it! In stead, you’ll find Mirror Mirror to be a theatrical, playful and very emotionally passionate album. Of course, you get a good alternation of more exited songs with calmer ones, and occasionally the whole of the ensemble provides McDermott’ andorgyn singing with somewhat bombastic backings, allowing for a bit of vocal variety. Anyway, until McDermott and Co start performing outside Britain, we’ll have to make due with their music, offered to us on the band’s first full-length CD [they already released the From The Circus To The Sea EP somewhere in 2008, the EP also containing a video for the track “In Your Shirt”, directed by movie maker Shelly Love, for whose movie The Forgotten Circus the band had made the music score – can be heard on the DVD which comes with the EP]…which is by all means more an experience than just mere music listening. The question is, are you up for it? A warning is in place here, because once you’ve gotten a whiff of what the band posted at myspace.com/theirrepressibles, and considering your interest might’ve been raised by the Jeff Buckley/ Mercury/ Mika/ Antony & The Johnsons vocal comparisons, you will get hooked to the point of wanting to get the album! It is a certainly as big as life and death itself! Personally, although I go to concerts but very unfrequently these days (too much to do, not rich enough to spend money on such “fleating” things), I would lóve to see a complete set of The Irrepressibles some day…preferably soon enough, and in a theater nearby! And with those ideas in mind, it shouldn’t be a surprise for you that I’ve found my first release of 2010 to include into my year-lists! By the way, I’ve just found out the above mentioned release date is for the UK only. In France, people will have to wait until Feb. 22…in Germany until March 26…but luckily the rest of Europe can already go get the album on January 29! 98/100 Tony. |