Lanterns On The Lake

It was a spontaneous decision that almost bit me. On Wednesday after getting an email from the Bodega in Nottingham I booked a ticket to see ‘Lanterns on the Lake’. Having happily twittered my joy at seeing the band the following the evening, fortunately I spotted a tweet from @lanternstalk  noting their joy at playing in Birmingham that night.

Disaster averted I caught the band on Friday night. A much better night to see them in Nottingham after all.

Support came from Goodnight Lenin & Jonny Kearney and Lucy Farrell, both young bands with some good original material and worth seeing.

Lanterns on the Lake are a another Bella Union signing. The label keeps picking up some really original new bands and I hope these people find some success. They are a young band whose debut album Gracious Tide, Take Me Home has recently been released.

Coming from Newcastle and playing since 2008 they are six piece band and all very practised musicians. The sound is a fairly eclectic mix of folk, electronica and rising ambient guitar music. I confess to being impressed by any band that has a guitarist that uses a violin bow and also to hearing a well-played electric violin. They swap and change instruments and huddle and thrash the life out some the songs.

The video for the song Keep On Trying is here on their website and there are Soundcloud links to streaming songs. There’s a glowing review here in the Guardian that use lots of good words. I just like well-played live music performed by people in it for its own sake. There is no pretension in the Lanterns song book. They have obviously listened to a lot of music and probably much of it that I like and they show a real commitment to their output.

Maybe it’s difficult to have delusions of grandeur when six people are squished on a tiny stage, tripping over wires, dodging elbows and headstocks. Like most Bella Union bands I’ve heard they seem to try to be away from the herd, looking at distant horizons, stargazing, fishing, making music that puts you somewhere else for a little while. It’s definitely the coolest label on the planet at the moment.

I hope they get to take their career to the next level and look forward to another album.

Here’s the last song form the Bodega show ‘I Love You, Sleepyhead’. Apologies but its a slow loader in HD. Shine on you crazy lanterns….