something missing from many albums these days is the instrumental introduction at the start. it came to my attention when my mum's partner picked it up when i was playing u2's zooropa many years ago, which has a delicate + extended introduction. he's a muso from way back, so i heeded his words. i find i unconsciously pick up such things now.
so one of the first things that struck me about pensive penguin's debut ep, life was given to the birds, was the placement of 'acquiesce' at the beginning, with its gentle guitar + keys. this is not a song that opens a pensive penguin gig, though. no. they come out rocking.
and that is exactly what they did at their ep launch on friday, at the zoo, pulling us straight into movement mode with 'colours that fade'. jesse never fails to entertain on the drums with his variety of quirky facial expressions; alex's guitar becomes an extension of his self; david hangs quietly to the side with his bass; and denis just does his thing with his unique voice + fancy [newish] guitar. [it is a 1968 ibanez copy of a gretsch country gentleman that has been fixed out with all gretsch parts - so even though it's an ibanez, the pick ups are gretsch. yep. i know my stuff when it comes to guitars. or i may have asked denis for clarification, for it went over my head when i was initially told. anyway, it's a cool guitar.]
one thing i especially love about pensive penguin's music is the song titles + lyrics. denis is an incredibly well-read individual, and this, as well as personal experience, creeps into the songs, making them rich, intense and, sometimes, quite amusing.
crowd favourites [if i'm allowed to use such a term] 'acquiesce' + 'charismatic autocrat' had people bouncing + hips shaking. [strangely, when i hear someone say the word acquiesce, i always find myself singing, "a thousand ways to make you acquiesce".] 'lauren's song' resonates further within me upon each listen - i loved it the first time i heard the recorded version of.
'dream girl' is one of my favourites, narrating the tale of a man who falls in love with the girl of his dreams within his own dreams. his [jealous] girlfriend [in reality] proceeds to spike his drink so he is unable to sleep, and, therefore, unable to visit his dream love. i just think the premise of the song is fabulous enough. it had a slightly different feel to it this time. perhaps it was the venue. it had a more 'story-telling' feel than i had seen previously, made more effective by the way the music walked us through it.
but the the song i was waiting for was 'fallow souls', a new number. its roots lie in unrequited love, and the story of narcissus. my greek mythology is quite rusty [i'm thinking back to year seven], so i had denis recite the story to me over lunch last week. what stayed with me with the most potency was the whispering of the narcissus flowers.
pensive penguin was joined on stage by hannah [charlie mayfair] + greg [montpelier] for an almost haunting first half of 'fallow souls' - hannah's vocals can do that [see charlie mayfair review here]. the song's second half was far more experimental than the band's previous stuff. denis refers to it as 'being a bit self-indulgent'. i'm not sure i was absolutely keen on it. another listening of and time will tell.
the set was closed with 'common magic' + 'preach to the devil [labyrinthine ways]', with an encore of '10,000 cigarettes'. i love 'common magic' for the sneaky ninja tempo + key changes, and 'preach to the devil' for the fact that we get to clap and join in with the chorus. nothing like a live singalong. oh, and the fact that 'preach to the devil' evolved from graham greene's the power and the glory, which was published in the us under the name the labyrinthine ways.
i think what pensive penguin do well in a live show, that certainly draws me in, is engage with the crowd. this, of course, might have everything to do with denis's ability to talk + deliver short anecdotes between songs. and i will always judge a live gig on engagement with the crowd.
and while the band's recorded songs are polished + clean, i have to say, i dig their live gigs more. and friday's was their best yet.
so one of the first things that struck me about pensive penguin's debut ep, life was given to the birds, was the placement of 'acquiesce' at the beginning, with its gentle guitar + keys. this is not a song that opens a pensive penguin gig, though. no. they come out rocking.
and that is exactly what they did at their ep launch on friday, at the zoo, pulling us straight into movement mode with 'colours that fade'. jesse never fails to entertain on the drums with his variety of quirky facial expressions; alex's guitar becomes an extension of his self; david hangs quietly to the side with his bass; and denis just does his thing with his unique voice + fancy [newish] guitar. [it is a 1968 ibanez copy of a gretsch country gentleman that has been fixed out with all gretsch parts - so even though it's an ibanez, the pick ups are gretsch. yep. i know my stuff when it comes to guitars. or i may have asked denis for clarification, for it went over my head when i was initially told. anyway, it's a cool guitar.]
one thing i especially love about pensive penguin's music is the song titles + lyrics. denis is an incredibly well-read individual, and this, as well as personal experience, creeps into the songs, making them rich, intense and, sometimes, quite amusing.
crowd favourites [if i'm allowed to use such a term] 'acquiesce' + 'charismatic autocrat' had people bouncing + hips shaking. [strangely, when i hear someone say the word acquiesce, i always find myself singing, "a thousand ways to make you acquiesce".] 'lauren's song' resonates further within me upon each listen - i loved it the first time i heard the recorded version of.
'dream girl' is one of my favourites, narrating the tale of a man who falls in love with the girl of his dreams within his own dreams. his [jealous] girlfriend [in reality] proceeds to spike his drink so he is unable to sleep, and, therefore, unable to visit his dream love. i just think the premise of the song is fabulous enough. it had a slightly different feel to it this time. perhaps it was the venue. it had a more 'story-telling' feel than i had seen previously, made more effective by the way the music walked us through it.
but the the song i was waiting for was 'fallow souls', a new number. its roots lie in unrequited love, and the story of narcissus. my greek mythology is quite rusty [i'm thinking back to year seven], so i had denis recite the story to me over lunch last week. what stayed with me with the most potency was the whispering of the narcissus flowers.
pensive penguin was joined on stage by hannah [charlie mayfair] + greg [montpelier] for an almost haunting first half of 'fallow souls' - hannah's vocals can do that [see charlie mayfair review here]. the song's second half was far more experimental than the band's previous stuff. denis refers to it as 'being a bit self-indulgent'. i'm not sure i was absolutely keen on it. another listening of and time will tell.
the set was closed with 'common magic' + 'preach to the devil [labyrinthine ways]', with an encore of '10,000 cigarettes'. i love 'common magic' for the sneaky ninja tempo + key changes, and 'preach to the devil' for the fact that we get to clap and join in with the chorus. nothing like a live singalong. oh, and the fact that 'preach to the devil' evolved from graham greene's the power and the glory, which was published in the us under the name the labyrinthine ways.
i think what pensive penguin do well in a live show, that certainly draws me in, is engage with the crowd. this, of course, might have everything to do with denis's ability to talk + deliver short anecdotes between songs. and i will always judge a live gig on engagement with the crowd.
and while the band's recorded songs are polished + clean, i have to say, i dig their live gigs more. and friday's was their best yet.
[images © nina hamilton 2010]
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