The local music vibe has had a few hard hits over the recent months, firstly being the hermits not wanting to leave the comfort of their own homes, secondly the multiple flus that have been circulating and thirdly, and most recently to note, is the closure of one of Swindon’s most iconic venues - Level III. All the latter combined have arguably sent music goers into a slight state of disarray - it’s quite tragic to overhear people claim that Swindon’s music scene ‘is dead’.
Four local bands (Grasslands, Canute’s Plastic Army, Flour Babies and SexJazz) challenged this perception and provided a wonderful concoction of local talent last weekend, comfortably filling out The Castle, and put on an incredible evening of live performances appropriately named ‘Flufest’.
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Patrick from SexJazz ©Calyx Picture Agency[/caption]
The Ocelot managed to fail at timekeeping and bustled inside The Castle midway through Canute’s Plastic Army’s set. It was an oddly assuring moment when squeezing through the door to a full bar and already well assembled crowd around the stage, all of whom were taking in a perfect balancing act of Anish Noble-Harrison’s spellbinding vocals and Neil Mercer’s delicate yet dynamic use of acoustic guitar.
To some Canute’s Plastic Army would not have been the natural precursor to Flour Babies, but this only accentuated the great range and variety of music currently present in Swindon. Operating on a large and more diverse scale, Flour Babies are a five-piece band made up by Gavin Jones (guitar), Will Davies (guitar, vocals), James Osborne (bass), Jon Carter (synth) and Tom Brown (drums).
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Flour Babies ©Calyx Picture Agency[/caption]
With their combination of instruments present, Flour Babies succeed in creating an impactful use of sound levels which they execute in a manner that could easily be interpreted as blasé - it’s a stage presence which actually works really well for them. Whilst basing their foundations on “a Post-Eno Talking Heads impression”, which is identifiable, for me they’ve also got a faint pop punk undercurrent that cite the Pixies’ psychedelia elements and hard rock finishes.
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Flour Babies ©Calyx Picture Agency[/caption]
Our Ocelot Editor, Jamie, said: “I really like the off kilter to the vocals, I thought the melodies were fantastic. I could see this band going really far - at the moment they’re a little raw but with more band rehearsals they could easily tighten themselves up and go on to really great things.”
For the fourth and final act, the always abstractly dressed SexJazz hit the stage. The trio (Charlie Miles on bass, Patrick Edmonds with guitar, and Marc Henley on drums) are a force to be reckoned with. They’re a strange yet wonderful combination of funk and soul meets disco pop, whilst simultaneously taking punk rock by the balls and hammering it home, embodied through tracks such as Liquorice and California Countdown. Their sound is arguably as ambiguous as their name - maybe it’s because they’re claustrophobic - so it’s a safe assumption that these guys don’t like being boxed in.
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SexJazz ©Calyx Picture Agency[/caption]
For instance, SexJazz encapsulates the instrumental synergy and fun that’s very present in the likes of The Avalanches’ Frontier Psychiatrist and Primal Scream’s Loaded, and have fused that with a punk edge which leaves you half expecting them to smash up the stage.
Jamie hailed them as: “Organised chaos! They’re very tight and professional musicians with absolutely bizarre and energetic performances and really know how to make the crowd roar for more.”
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SexJazz ©Calyx Picture Agency[/caption]
For all the riotous energy that SexJazz bring to their sets, the trio are also incredibly polished in a way which establishes their professionalism - they’re clearly having fun, but it comes with an assertive confidence which undoubtedly stems from commitment. Sexjazz are a musical enigma, to say the least, in the most self-assured way.
It’s free gigs, like Flufest, that prompt an assurance in Swindon’s music scene. It’s certainly an area which needs to be addressed, given that all bands will naturally endeavour to move on up to bigger and more established venues that charge for entry. But for the meantime it’s wonderful to see local musicians and venues, like The Castle, collaborating in such a way which will hopefully encourage more musicians to take to the stage.
