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Back in April, musicOMH's Unsigned Guide sang the praises of two bands from across the pond - Tapes 'n Tapes and Voxtrot. The latter even turned up in our second podcast. What delight it is then that both bands have now been signed, and the Austin five-piece have been persuaded over to Blighty.
This exciting and excitable bunch of jaunty melodysmiths tonight demonstrated their craft in what seemed more disused warehouse than London venue. The live music scene is now so sanitised by health and safety laws that the nominally titled "State 51", a space with more than a little feel of "illegal rave" about it, felt like a thrilling breath of proverbial fresh air. Rather like our headliners, in fact.
The rudimentary nature of the venue ran the gamut - steps to comedy-trip down, wobbly floor and sundry semi-demolished passageways and a motley collection of furniture on which to test one's weight were merely the icing atop a fruity mix of delights. The lack of a stage meant that height challenged members of the industry-heavy audience struggled to see lead Voxtrotter, front man and songwriter Ramesh. Happily, for those of us distantly related to giraffes, all of his formidable performance talent was in evidence.
With a stripey polo shirt all buttoned up he looked like a child delighted to be let out of school early to play with his toys. (Do children still play with toys? I suppose musical instruments are toys of a sort.) If Ramesh is a day over 16 then he's ageing well. When not impressively playing electric piano or skiffling along with electric guitar, he entertained the massed throng with the best impersonation of a pogo stick seen this side of Hoxton for many a day.
Without having recorded material beyond the band's MySpace presence to tune my lugholes into I was not in a position to note song titles, but two striking points, well, struck me. Nobody's told this band that radio stations like three minute numbers. Just about all their tracks pootled on melodically for as long as the band seemed to think was necessary - six, seven minutes - but none of them were the soundtrack-ready Sigur Rós-type epic. All sounded jaunty, uplifting, major-chord affairs that would ordinarily have Drivetime written all over them, but in Voxtrot's hands they become mini-operettas, with discernable movements.
And by the end a largely industry crowd had been won over, whether by performance ability, energy, melody or Ramesh's charisma. We duly retired to the makeshift bar to grin smugly and speculate on how many months it'll take before Voxtrot turn the music-loving heads of this nation. Conclusive evidence will be provided with the UK release of the Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives EP at the end of September. Until then, catch them on tour and tell 'em we sent you.
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