Reviews
Artist:Horse Feathers/Martin and James/One Little Plane
Venue:The Luminaire
Town:London
Date:02 Mar 09
Website:http://www.myspace.com/horsefeathersmusic
http://www.myspace.com/martinandjames
http://www.mysmace.com/onelittleplane
The Luminaire is my favourite venue: all members of staff are friendly, the sound is excellent and the crowd appreciative, but this was not enough to stop One Little Plane giving a nervy performance. Apart from apologies for not having used her guitar pedals before the singer appeared for the most part either unable or unwilling to engage the crowd. If she had been playing solo with an acoustic guitar her little girl lost vocals would have done nothing for me, however, use of an electric guitar and the addition of drums kept my interest and worked especially well on "Sunshine Kid". Ultimately, at the end of their 30 minute set I knew little more about One Little Plane than at the beginning. I didn't know their names, where they were from, if they were touring, or if they had an album or EP or single out and that cannot be a good thing.
At 9:15 Martin and James was due on stage, billed as Martin James I was expecting a solo performer not a duo (which one was Martin and which one was James was never revealed). They come from Glasgow; one plays a 6 string, one a 12 and they harmonise through an effortless set of eight songs.
Both seemed a bit shocked at the attentiveness of the Luminaire's crowd; when starting "Broken Sword" ("a wee quiet song") they said they had to ask most Glasgow crowds to be quiet. The guitars were swapped after, what seemed like, every song. This was "something you'll have to get used to" and I did. Martin and James have the uncanny knack of making you think you know every one of their songs when really you are hearing them for the first time. If the album they had recently recorded in Berlin had been available I'd have bought it, then cursed not still have a CD walkman so I could put "I Have To Fall" on repeat for the journey home.
Portland, Oregon's Horse Feathers were playing their third of eight dates in the UK. Ideally suited to this venue, their sparse, haunting songs demand to be listened to. The use of cello and violin accompanying Justin Ringle's acoustic guitar gives their music an almost classical feel rather than the more traditional Americana. The backing vocals are virtually whispered, with lips as far away from the microphone as possible whilst still being audible.
This is beautiful, beautiful music: from the opening track "In Our Blood" to the closing "Rude to Rile", Horse Feathers create engaging, compelling music that draws you in and will not let you go. Everything is kept to a bare minimum with gaps in songs that are designed not to let you catch your breath, but rather your thoughts - Horse Feathers: the thinking mans Americana.
John Hawes