‘I never had the best of British luck.’
The Castle & Falcon, a cosy little establishment in Balsall Heath, scene of a live album to see off all other live albums. I am of course talking about Brummie legends Nightingales, swathed in the very warp and weft of the music industry, steadfast, honest and straight as a die.
With memorable numbers like ‘I ♥ CCTV’ and ‘Dick The Do- Gooder’ the magnificent seven rode into town on Sunday 13th November 2022, for a riotous night, and as a consequence delivering sheer heart attacks for all. Savour the ‘Sunlit Uplands’ with rhythmic beats and slinky saxophones, rebellious outlook, singeing your forelocks as you frantically look around for something to tug.
The rogue’s gallery reads like this, Robert Lloyd -vocals, swanee whistle, Andreas Schmid – bass guitar, Fliss Kitson – drums, vocals, James Smith – guitar, vocals, Terry Edwards- tenor and soprano saxophones, trumpet, maracas, Beth Hopkins – alto sax, clarinet, guitar, maracas, vocals, and Natalie Mason – viola, keyboards, accordion, tom tom, tambourine, maracas and vocals, phew that’s a whole orchestra right there. This varied display of musical prowess is testament to the layers of sound, the canny arrangements and vocals that twist and turn defining a complex mix of styles and tempos, all providing a scintillating listening landscape.
The chaotic ruckus of ‘Too Posh To Push’ is deliriously heady, creating vortices inside every vital organ, unrelenting and unashamed.
There is an aura of paranoia as each song has this stealth like aspect, it creeps up on you, deals you the death card and wanders off into the distance without any explanation. The whole vibe is a fantastical concoction made up of The Cardiacs, The Swans and The Fall, all icons, desperately muddled, rambunctious, melancholic, there is a method to the madness, believe me. The videos are quite something too; unique I’d say full of character and substance, take for example the exchange between the singer and the ‘Dumb and Drummer’ unhinged at the very least and utterly batshit insane – cue the men in white coats.
The seven music makers here, each bring their own skills and character to accentuate the recording process. I met drummer Fliss Kitson recently at Supersonic Festival, an awesome lady, hugely talented and so generous with her time, just lovely chatting to her.
The extremely sobering, deep groove of ‘Magical Left Foot’ is slower, softer, precise in its purpose but equally brilliant. The outro of ‘Mark Meets No Mark’ reminds me of the 80’s harmonies that The Damned treated us to. The grand finale of ‘Dick The Do- Gooder’ sounds positively sozzled, a brouhaha of epic proportions, jangling and wrangling, noisy, and gnarly, generating applause that are heartfelt and appreciative of the night’s work. Get ready to go eighteen rounds with these guys, each track a shard of shrapnel lodging itself in your brain, piquing at your grey matter, breaking and entering at will.
When that nightingale sang, he unwittingly paved the way for these Brummie songbirds, Balsall Heath is the new Berkeley Square.
Azra Pathan
Nightingales – Live In Balsall Heath out now