Music > Live Reviews
Fenech-Soler
The Adrian Flux Waterfront
27/02/17
Brothers Ben and Ross Duffy, now together carrying the flag of Fenech-Soler after the departure last year of bass player Daniel and drummer Andrew, arrived at Norwich Waterfront Studio on Saturday, eager to show off tracks from new release Zilla, as well as remind us of the summery electro pop sound that charmed us via their first two albums.
As if to underline a determination to push into new territories Fenech-Soler open the set with Night Time TV, a track from Zilla that demonstrates a new darker side to the band's previously positive and upbeat sound. With the brothers Duffy installed to the front of stage, cousin Chris takes over the drum kit, and long-term friend Tom provides bass and additional keyboards on this 14 date European tour. A four-piece line-up ensures that old favourites like Lies, Demons and Stop and Stare still sound refreshingly familiar. Kaleidoscope, the joyous standout single from Zilla is an obvious highlight, closely followed by a neat interpretive cover of Janet Jackson's Control. The lighting is impressive, and the whole show has a professional tightness that hints at larger stages and bigger venues beckoning.
But I am accompanied to the gig by daughter Florence, who probably got it just right when she comments that, whilst the playing and presentation is up there and still eminently danceable, the assembled package now seems a little dated, hanging onto a moment in time when the likes of Friendly Fires and Klaxons were kings of the airwaves and summer festival stages, and Fenech-Soler were waiting in the wings as the new pretenders. Seven years after the release of their eponymous debut, perhaps we were expecting FS to have evolved even more, using their energy and production skills to evolve a sound contemporary enough to now attract a new and younger audience?
Support comes from the well-matched billing of Secret Company, a four-piece from Chelmsford, and Shelter Point a duo from Nottingham. Secret Company produce a guitar-led set driven with cantering beats and just a touch of synths. With floor-tom embellishments enhancing backbone drumming, and with acoustic guitar on Midnight Rush revealing a delicate side to their melodic yet percussive sound, both the daughter and I are impressed.
Shelter Point may sound distractingly like a housing charity, but once this duo kick into their set we are instantly transported into a post James Blake world where vulnerable vocals dance over electronic landscapes. Standout track Fossil leads us into a bleak place that is both beautiful and addictive. Shrouded in misty red lighting, the duo turn in an impressive performance.
An early finish for a Saturday night meant that the daughter and I could have stayed for the Waterfront Meltdown, but I know where and when to draw the line. It was good enough of her to accompany me to a gig during her weekend visit from London. There was absolutely no need for her to be forced into witnessing any 'dad-dancing' as well.