After a long week of worshipping at the altar of the easter bunny, it’s time to put all that non-sense behind us, and head out and listen to some live music.
As luck would have it, we’ve got three shows lined up this week. Three real treats for all of you, from all of us. First out of the gate, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, followed by Wolf People and Devon Sproule (pronounced SPROLL, as in rock’n'ROLL) at the weekend.
Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter
Revolver, Oslo – Tuesday, 26th of April. CC: 100 NOK
Tickets
Event on Facebook
Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter on Spotify
Formed from the ashes of two alternative country bands, Whiskeytown and Hominy, the duo of lead singer/guitarist Jesse Sykes and guitarist Phil Wandscher met in 1999 in Seattle’s Hattie Hat bar. (Allmusic.com)
Sykes and her bandmates are a group of musicians whose music resonates, against all standards of modern musical genrefication, in the parallel worlds of the avant-garde and the timeless. Sykes’ voice and the sometimes-mystical leanings of her songs (the former described perfectly by Magnet as “sounding less like a performer and more like a sage”), and the band’s incomparable feel all lead to what the New York Times has described as “spellbound music, rapt in fatalism and sorrow.” Perhaps it’s this thematic darkness that has lately drawn attention to their music from a decidedly heavier crowd than in the past. (Wikipedia)
Wolf People
Gamla, Oslo – Friday, 29th of April. CC: 100 NOK
Tickets
Event on Facebook
Wolf People on Spotify
It’s a great pleasure for us to be able to present one of the most exciting bands to come out of the UK in years. If you’ve enjoyed contemporary acts such as Deerhoof, Dungen or Tame Impala in recent years, don’t miss out on Wolf People.
The brainchild of singer and guitarist Jack Sharp, Wolf People started in 2005 when Sharp recorded a demo album in the English town of Bedfordshire. Named after the children’s book Little Jacko and the Wolf People, the band is a throwback to the bluesy psychedelia of Cream, Traffic, and early Jethro Tull, tackling the sounds of the past with a kind of nostalgic reverence.
The band released a few singles and EPs before pulling off a bit of a coup on the other side of the pond, becoming the first British band to sign to the indie label Jagjaguwar. In 2010, Wolf People had a busy release year, putting out both their debut, Tidings, and their follow-up, Steeple, in the same year. (Allmusic.com)
Devon Sproule
Revolver, Oslo – Friday, 30th of April. CC: 100 NOK
Tickets
Event on Facebook
Spotify playlist
We’ve fallen in love with Devon Sproule here at Spoon Train. Having heard her name for a fair few years, it was via the brilliant, and thoroughly professional, Word Magazine podcast that we got hooked on her particular brand of organic, blues-poppy, folk music.
Born to hippie parents on a commune named Dandelion in Kingston, Ontario, Sproule claims dual citizenship with both Canada and the United States. She spent her childhood on the 465-acre (1.88 km2), 100-member Twin Oaks Community[2] founded in 1967 as an intentional community and ecovillage in Louisa County, Virginia.
Sproule’s music shares elements of folk, country, and jazz, delivered in an affecting, personal style.
“Vintage country…with jazzy sophistication…beautifully sparse arrangements and melodies that surprise the ear when you first hear them, but which then get under your skin much more than anything more obvious would.”—BBC
“Keep Your Silver Shined rings with a sweet, heartbreaking majesty; these songs are beautiful, timeless and transporting.”—Davy Rothbart, This American Life
(Wikipedia)
