I Am Kloot - Albert Hall, Manchester, 10/4/2015

  by Dixie Ernill

published: 19 / 6 / 2015

intro

Manchester’s finest cult band, I Am Kloot, perform a remarkable hometown set in former city centre church, the Albert Hall, and an awestruck Dixie Ernill is there to witness

Back in 2013, I Am Kloot released their last and arguably most complete album to date, 'Let It All In', which was packed with an array of classic songs that 99% of other bands would sell their own mothers to have in their armoury. Yet tonight at a packed home town show I Am Kloot deliver a stunning twenty-five strong set of tracks lifted from throughout their fifteen year career without the need to play any songs from that brilliant last album...such are the riches of their back catalogue. The faded grandeur of the recently opened venue that was once a Wesleyan Church seems to lend itself perfectly to frontman John Bramwell’s wonderfully crafted songs, even the ones about “drinking and disaster” as he puts it. On record I Am Kloot are a treat, but live is where the true magic really happens as bassist Pete Jobson and drummer Andy Hargreaves provide the solid rhythmic framework for Bramwell to hang his colourful lyrical tapestries. His eye for detail and ability to document love, life and longing in the drinking dens of Northern England put him on a par with another local lad who found fame in the Smiths. Song wise, the early part of the set has some of the rockier numbers (opener 'One Man Brawl', 'Cuckoo', 'Life in a Day' and 'Gods and Monsters') before the softer side of the band is exposed on the beautiful 'Same Deep Water as Me'. Halfway through, Bramwell is left to deliver the effecting 'Astray' and 'At the Sea' on his own, before Jobson and Hargreaves return and more beautiful songs are unveiled. 'Ferris Wheels', with its heartfelt lyric of long distance love, is a personal highlight, while the equally wonderful 'Northern Sky' evokes the most fervent reaction from an already mesmerised audience. The unrehearsed interplay between Jobson and Bramwell as they both sink gradually to their knees during 'To the Brink' brings a smile, but the way Bramwell waltzes across the stage holding his guitar like a loved one at an older person’s tea dance could easily bring a tear. In one song the whole essence of Kloot is captured...laughter and sorrow. The set closes with 'From Your Favourite Sky', another achingly special song, before a brace of oldies ('Twist' and 'Proof') make up a fitting encore. This band are a thing of rare beauty and it is a pleasure to watch them play.

Also at Albert Hall, Manchester

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