By James Queralt
Playing out this year’s seemingly eternal January was Americana/folk duo Mandolin Orange, who arrived at the Bullingdon’s back room for the penultimate show of the UK leg of their European tour.
Indeed, January 31 seemed an apt time to catch this set, as the audience were treated to a band equally as comfortable delivering melancholy, reflective country tones as they were starting whiskey-soaked hoedowns, which must’ve made the last of the dry January clingers-on tempted to throw in the towel with just hours to go.
The pair, who formed Mandolin Orange in 2009 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina after meeting at a jam session on the night of President Obama’s inauguration, received a warm reception as they collected their casually leaning instruments on stage. “We’re gonna play a bunch of tunes for y’all,” announced fiddler-cum-rhythm guitarist Emily Frantz, opting to open the set with the latter instrument – Frantz originally trained as a fiddler, but has found herself increasingly switching to the guitar to accommodate partner Andrew Marlin’s obsession with the mandolin.
The instrument from which the band takes its name is certainly mesmerising when in the right pair of hands, and the audience’s quiet captivation as Marlin strummed a particularly intricate riff halfway through 2011’s bluesy ‘Wake Me’ would seem to suggest that he is just that. 
They followed that up with ‘Hey Stranger,’ the opener off 2016 album Blindfaller. For this track, Franz, usually providing the harmony to Marlin’s strong lead vocals, takes on the lead mantle. The result is a melancholic, nostalgic tale warning against “living with trouble in mind.” With this and other more recent tracks, the duo’s effortless harmony is on full show as they opt for a less expansive, more spontaneous approach – a throwback to country icons such as Emmylou Harris. Frantz’s gentle yet passionate vocals also reminded me of Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit’s Soderberg sisters, an excellent string to their bow (or mandolin, fiddle, guitar, banjo etc.) in terms of versatility, given the fact that Marlin is generally recognised as lead vocalist. While both voices played to their strengths effectively, Frantz’s really stood out for me. The songs briefly continued down the pensive route, but the band recognised the funny side, as Marlin introduced 2013’s ‘There Was a Time’ by announcing that “this is a song about divorce. It’s from the perspective of our old neighbour’s ex-wife. She doesn’t know that, I don’t think she’d be too happy about it.” The track was markedly Parton-esque and its hook sombre hook, “there was a time when I called you mine,” could easily see the song work as a ‘Jolene’ sequel, especially considering its context. A more overt tribute to Parton came before this as they covered bluegrass ballad ‘Silver Dagger,’ inspired, according to Frantz, by Parton’s 1999 recording. To close the gig, Frantz picked up her fiddle and, as Marlin explained, “detuned it so it sounds more old-timey.” A full-on hand-clapping, foot-stomping hoedown was now in progress, with hoots and whistles flying from the crowd, as the Bully was briefly on the verge of being transformed into a South-eastern America-inspired square dance. The band are off to play in the Netherlands at the weekend, and if that set takes on a similar trajectory to this one, the Dutch are certainly in for a joyful hootenanny on which to end their evening.