13 June 2013 (gig)
15 June 2013
There are a number of bands who manage to generate a following by simple dint of playing music to their friends and other musicians and who build that following through the quality and integrity of the music.
Thursday night at London’s Borderline felt like a party, where a bunch of friends had gathered to celebrate ‘something’ and in this case that something was the ‘Reclaimed’ album – the first full length release from Adrian Roye and the Exiles.
With assistance from the excellent Raevennan Husbandes’ slide Dobro the band ran through the entire album, in sequence, and then followed up with tracks from their first EP and the ‘Only Poster Boy’ single. To my ear they were absolutely ‘on it’ and the music came out beautifully and with ease.
That really was the feeling of the show – ease. The band are at ease with each other and the crowd was whooping and cheering from the first notes, Adrian’s asides taken with laughter and smiles and even when he forgot to call Ms Husbandes up and she magically appeared, Dobro in hand, the good humour was apparent on all sides.
As I have already reviewed the album I was looking forward to hearing what the tracks would sound like live and I wasn’t disappointed – the harmonies and Simon’s cello behind Adrian’s sweet vocals, Beth’s bass completely holding the track in line and Dan’s percussion subtle and very much part of the music all working to make the songs come alive.
‘Cold War’ was simply chilling and ‘Where Are The Roses’ dripping with emotion and the crowd was lapping them up. The older numbers came over as well as they always do but I swear that ‘Josephine’ gets more vicious and dark every time it is played.
The band are one of those who play infrequently but if you see them billed they are well worth the effort of catching.
