Opening for Matthew E White tonight are the terrific London
outfit Elephant. For the most part they are a gorgeous slice of whimsy that
takes XX style tunes out of the doldrums and into a world of make believe.
Not content with producing just XX and Grimes-esque tunes,
they stray into the world of disco and acid house giving a nod to 808 State and
Sebastien Tellier’s ‘La Ritournelle’. Their debut album is not far away but
with such creative diversity at their fingertips TT cannot help but imagine
their polished 3rd album becoming an indie/dance classic.
Matthew E. White
Before we write anything about his gig we need to make an
important announcement. Matthew E. White and his band have amassed a dazzling
collection of beards.
White released his debut solo effort ‘Big Inner’ on Monday
via Domino and is playing to a sold out gig at the Lexington tonight. Notably
tonight, the live set is quite distant to delivery of songs on ‘Big Inner’. The
album is a subtle and mesmerizing John Martyn meets Bon Iver affair where as
the live show is a raucous journey through US roots-rock.
On the more introspective numbers tonight, White sounds like
Iron & Wine performing with The Band and when things get experiential it’s
as though My Morning Jacket have crossed paths with Peter Gabriel’s Genesis.
‘Steady Pace’ is the highlight of the evening. Everybody in
the Lexington is rocking out to White’s ‘groovier number’ as he puts it. It
showcases the whole bands ability to play and proves that rock music is alive
and still interesting.
Quite often when a group of musicians of this stature get
together like White and his band, there is a loss of passion and the
relationship with the audience breaks down. Not tonight! The appetite to put on
a show that is meaningful is clearly at the forefront of what they are trying
to achieve.
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