The Golden Lion is a legendary venue set in the hills of the Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, a large upstairs room in the pub has lights and PA and equipment that have seen many a travelling band pass through. Tonight it’s the turn of the enigma Vukovar, The Pink Diamond Review and MAX EMRG who is on his first gig outing. We’ve travelled over yesterday for another gig at the venue (revue will follow) as well as this one.
MAX EMRG is solo performer with a laptop a guitar and some keyboards as well as random pedals. His strong voice hits you first, clear and resonant, then the backing beats he is using. He alternates between keyboards and guitar and seems to have a few technical glitches that in no way (from the audience perspective) bring down his performance. Some wry humour is added and its dark material, heavy with synths and effects but the songs are well crafted and the voice rides on top of it all and is a pleasure to listen to.
The Pink Diamond Review engage me immediately. This is drums, electric guitar and backing tracks, oh and a mannequin that has her attire changed regularly by the guitar player. They play in the gloom against a back projection that is constantly shifting, shapes and colours evolving and always changing, hypnotically so. The whole effect is pretty wonderful and keeps me watching. The music is psych sounding, repetitive, sometimes hardly there sometime like an adrenalin rush of guitar. The whole effect is unsettling yet vivid and entrancing.
Vukovar intrigued me. They’ve put out some great music, there’s a connection with The Ceramic Hobs, they describe themselves as ‘formed in a crumbling place-filler of a town in 2014. They were always dying and reorganised’. Everything about them is obscure, juxtaposed soundbites and yet some perfect pieces of music online.
Live, they split the audience, including our party. Some leave early, some stay transfixed and dance insanely as though watching a car crash or something of great beauty. This is the enigma. There is something there, scratching to get out, underneath all the jagged rhythms and the highly visible deconstruction of the band in the bar earlier and onstage as their gig progresses. It’s played in near darkness with two strong beams at the side of the band so catching more than glimpses of them is difficult. And yet, as one of those who stayed, there are transcendent moments, flashes that make it worthwhile where melody and rhythm combine and suddenly sublime music emerges from the art house post punk before descending again into the dark.
They split up, they may or have, or will or won’t reform, stronger or worse, louder or quieter. Weirdly though, this confusion and almost not there at all existence seems to suit them and their (non) objectives.
Words: Richie Yates, Photos: Adrian Wharton/Richie Yates
Links:
Vukovar Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VukovarUK
Pink Diamond Review Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thepinkdiamondrevue
MAX EMRG Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084349340962
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