Last seen in this neck of the woods opening for Richard Hawley at the De La Warr Pavilion, they’ve since recorded an EP with Lord Hawley, played and recorded with Jack White and released their first album. Not bad for a pair of nippers from Chichester.Backed by a trio of chaps on fiddle, bass and drums they started with their album opener ‘Summer Fades’ which was full of menacing Gothic harmonies. ‘Devil In My Mind’ recalled an American Civil War battle hymn, replete with thumping drums.

Katherine did most of the between-song-banter and spoke about going to life-drawing classes in Brighton; and being forcibly removed from Woolworths while busking in the early days, to make way for the ubiquitous pan pipers. Unsurprisingly the place was packed yet that damned smoke machine kept spewing out smog in an attempt to choke half the audience. The two Jack White produced songs, ‘Gastown’ and ‘River Song’ enchanted, with the former sounding like a trippy, sixties psychedelic-folk classic.Towards the end it felt a little like listening to a Joanna Newsom album – still really good but a little samey and starting to grate even. Thankfully they closed the set with the cracking crossover single ‘Hotel Room’ before quickly returning for an encore of the haunting ‘Feeling Is Turning Blue’ and the non-chart troubling, old favourite ‘Frozen Heart’. Lo-Fi solo act Julie
Ann Baenziger added a friend on guitar to expand her Sea Of Bees moniker to a duo and provided a well-suited support with simple, but effective folksy tales.

Smoke Fairies, Sea Of Bees
Jam
Monday 17th January, 2011

Words by Steve Clements