Cave Painting - XOYO, London, 21/10/2012

  by Tom Fogarty

published: 29 / 10 / 2012

intro

Tom Fogarty is impressed by young Brighton-based band Cave Painting's epic form of alternative rock at a show at the XOYO in London

Cave Painting played XOYO in the trendy Old Street area of London on 21st October, along with former Supergrass front man, Gaz Coombes. Exuding a playful exuberance rarely seen these days, this young alternative rock band look set to be on the verge of something big in the music scene. Their confidence belies their humble origins, previously playing small venues in their hometown of Brighton and various student nightspots. The venue is packed from early on and the band do not disappoint, rising to the occasion and seem to be genuinely loving the experience of playing in front of a receptive audience. The set consists of songs from their debut album ‘Votive Life’ and the drums are big and anthemic, while their sound is large. Although many may be here for Gaz Coombes tonight, Cave Painting instantly win over the crowd in a music arena that can be sometimes awkward with their charm and gusto. In fact, where their album falls flat and fails to impress at times, they more than make up for it on stage. Although they clearly have a musical ability for arrangement in abundance and the songwriting talent is head-and-shoulders above most bands out there, it is in their live performance where their music truly comes to life. At times it is hard to define if their sound enriches the atmosphere or vice versa, but does this really matter? Everyone here tonight is having fun, and that is the important part of any live performance. It is not difficult to see that they are destined for big things in the future, with the strong lead vocals of singer Adam Kane, slightly reminiscent of a joyful Morrissey or maybe an edgy Will Young. The songs are rhythmic and hypnotic, and this evidently carries the audience along - without getting raucous. And I don't mean that in a bad way. The band obviously have a close-knit chemistry between them, and there is much laughter and cheeky winks between themselves as they play their set. The five-piece all take a turn at drumming at times, which enlivens the atmosphere and is the main reason for the euphoric music they make. They sound is hard to describe without using terms such as “big” or “hypnotic”. Eschewing more mellow album tracks such as ‘Rio’ and ‘Only Us’, the band go straight for the jugular with the impressive 'Handle' and manage to keep the pace up from there. Tonight even their more subdued and melancholy moments sound optimistic and high-spirited in a naive but nonetheless endearing way. The talent on display here deserves to take them far, and judging by the music this evening - and certainly by gauging the crowd reaction - this can surely only be a matter of time. A great live band - I thoroughly recommend you check out one of their gigs before trying to appreciate their debut album. A very promising and exciting new band on the scene.

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