Late last Wednesday, I was very pleased to learn that
Gogo Penguin's second LP, 'V2.0', had been
shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize, a
thoroughly deserved nod. The evening after
the night before, Gogo Penguin played in
Norwich, opening for local outfit Mammal Hands,
who were launching their own debut LP
'Animalia'. Both bands played out of their
skins. It was a night that none in
attendance, on stage or in the packed
audience, will forget in a hurry.
I featured Gogo Penguin a few months ago
(
here) and their music has remained on
regular rotation round these parts ever
since, but was unprepared for the sheer force
of their live show. They groove, they swing
and, yes, they even rock, Mick Blacka
throwing occasional Keef-like shapes with his
double bass. The band stretch and push the
recorded versions of their repertoire into
seemingly uncharted areas before bringing
it all back home and finishing each tune on a
dime, without any noticeable nods or winks
between the three of them. The performance of
'One Percent' was worth the price of
admission alone. Totally thrilling stuff. This isn't too shabby either.
Mammal Hands are another three piece, who,
like Gogo Penguin, are blessed with an
extraordinary keyboard player and drummer,
unusually though, they have no bassist. The
line-up is completed by Jordan Smart on
saxophone who was also group announcer for
the night (apparently they take it in turns).
Smart is very quietly spoken and, in tunes
like 'Mansions of Millions of Years',
demonstrates similarly delicate phrasing on
the soprano sax. His range is huge though.
During an extended tenor sax workout in an
untitled new piece later in the evening, he
tore the place apart, prompting spontaneous
outbursts of applause from the audience
everytime he took it up another notch. This
was my first encounter with Mammal Hands, but
I bought the album after the show and I'll
certainly be back for more. Here's a version of 'Kandaiki, recorded last year.
Mammal Hands recorded 'Animalia' back in
December 2013 and are clearly already
looking towards album number two, in much the
same way as Gogo Penguin are pushing forward
to album three. It was a memorable night and I'm excited to hear what comes next from
these terrific bands.
