Song, by Toad

Like the review of The Felt Tips, this is as much an introduction as a review.  Elle S’Appelle hail from Liverpool, which is a relief, in a sense.  For some reason, the Liverpool scene seems to me to be utterly moribund at the moment.  No matter how feted a band from those parts seems to be I can never develop much more than a sort of positive indifference.  The same sort of positive indifference that the world feels towards Coldplay, which leads to the fuckers being all over national radio.  The Coral threatened to break that mould, before turning into the new Gomez, and for all the excitement about The Wombats I just can’t seem to get all that worked up about them.  If there are better things happening in and around the Mersey I’d love to know about them, because surely it can’t be as bad as it seems.

It is entirely possible that Elle S’Appelle might rescue me from my rather embarrassing discord with the city however.  Their bright, energetic pop songs are an absolute joy, and superlative single Little Flame is a highly recommended little treat for a dismal January night.  Moshi Moshi (home to Toad favourites The Wave Pictures) released their single Little Flame last year, and it sold out pretty much immediately.  You can still get digital copies from the Moshi Moshi shop however, and I suggest you hop to it.

How does their bass/keys/drums sound translate to a live setting then?  Well it was bloody hard to tell, to be honest.  the Southern is a pub, not a venue and the sound was awful.  I doubt there was much anyone could have done about it – it’s a lovely bar, it’s just not designed to be a venue -  but it didn’t help the performance.  They certainly played well enough, and the energy in the music was in clear evidence in their live show, so I will most definitely be purchasing any upcoming releases.  Fortunately, having heard them on record I was able to interpret a little, and it sounds like their other material is pretty good, which is promising.

Their music is heavily dependent on the sprightly, choppy vocal interplay between Lucy and Andy (don’t know their surnames, so don’t ask) and you just couldn’t make out what they were singing.  They were nice people too and chatted back to a silent audience cheerfully enough between songs.  We weren’t ignoring you, guys, we just couldn’t understand what you were saying.  So I will wait for either a bigger gig or a new record to renew my acquaintance with Elle S’Appelle’s music.  But I will most certainly be there when they next make an appearance.

Elle S’Appelle – She Sells Sea Shells
Elle S’Appelle – Everybody Needs Good Neighbours