Review: Chelsea from Essex, Sun 8 Sep 19

Band on the Wall has a free monthly showcase for more experimental acts called Free
Jazz. And last night one of those groups was Chelsea from Essex, built around the poetry
of Steve Hanson and Richard Barrett.

I got the bus in since the trams were disrupted. On the bus a group of young men, and I
think one woman, sung beautifully from near Brooks’ Bar to around the new Birley
Campus.

And this really wasn’t the tuneless chanting you often get when groups of men sing, this
was musical, harmonic, melodic, extremely fluid.

Before I get into it, I only review half of the gig. There were four acts performing, but I left
with friends after Chelsea from Essex. So in the interests of fairness I’m going to assume
that the acts I didn’t see, Laga Runa and Nguvu, were excellent, and recommend you
look into them for yourself.

So with all that throat-clearing out of the way, the first band was Moby Dickless. Their
songs were literary, like short stories set to music. I heard indie, funk, and post-punk
influences, with the sound seeming to land somewhere adjacent to the mid-90s. Pretty
close to Girls Vs Boys but with less sex.

Or, as that might suggest, slightly funky 90’s indie with elements of The Fall and Pulp
mixed in. None of which seems too far from their listed influences of Massive Attack,
Death Grips and Bob Dylan.

They had a minimal set-up: drums, bass and vocals, and guitar. The songs were well
performed, and the lyrics were very strong. Overall their music isn’t something I’d
normally listen to, but they had vocal support, so if it sounds like something you’d like
look them up.

Next up was Chelsea from Essex, the reason I was there. They combined pre-recorded
drums and music with live violin, percussion, and keyboard, and Steve and Richard
reading. With the pre-recorded element the whole thing was pretty tightly structured.

The pieces were rhythmic and propulsive, particularly when Steve Hanson was reading.
The text from both Steve and Richard of course was engaging and well-constructed,
bouncing back and forth between the two.

While they may not have been obviously performative in the visual sense they were much
more fascinating in terms of content than most acts you’ll see on a Sunday night. At times
the music was very subtle, and the whole worked together beautifully.

Early on they reminded me of something else that I still haven’t been able to place.
According to their Twitter comparisons were made to Beck and The Streets, which isn’t
too far off.

Anyway, you can check for yourself on their Bandcamp page,

chelseafromessex1.bandcamp.com. They currently have what I guess you’d call an EP
and an album available for not many pounds. Recommended.

Matt Dalby