GIG REVIEW - Helen Sanderson-White, Trinity Church, Aylesbury

 

With four albums behind her, and the release of her fifth due imminently, Helen Sanderson-White chose the beautiful and intimate venue of the Trinity Church in Aylesbury to showcase her new material alongside some of her previous tracks, throwing a few covers into the mix for good measure.

From the very start of the performance Helen drew the audience in to her world, chatting easily and telling the stories of each of the tracks she had chosen to perform. With her trusty sidekick and husband at the helm of the sound and light controls, the pair provided an additional dimension to the show by performing as a double act, sharing witty banter throughout and putting the audience completely at ease. Helen chose to alternate performing to her backing tracks with playing whilst at her piano, which added a further interesting facet to the intimate gig.

Starting out with two of the tracks from her previous album, At Second Glance, Helen then introduced the first of the tracks from her new album, Sirens and other Mysteries, explaining that the song, All These Chains, was borne out of the frustration of all of the tasks we weigh ourselves down with in modern life. This was followed by a beautiful rendition of a cover by a childhood influence; Carole King’s, You've Got A Friend.

Explaining the story behind the second track of the night from the new album, Helen recalled that she had written I'll Be With You after waking up in the middle of the night with the song in her head in the run up to the wedding of a close friend, and the song was now affectionately known as "The Wedding Song" by them, having been dedicated to the happy couple. Following up with a track from her 2006 album, Fallen But Not Fatal, the audience was then treated to a goody bag containing various treats before Helen sang the final song of her first set, Without You, from the new album.

Kicking off the second set, Helen chose to sing another track from her previous album before introducing a new track, If That's The Way. In doing so, Helen opened her heart to the audience by telling the story of how the track came about, explaining that the track came at a difficult time in her life following, almost simultaneously, the miscarriage of a much wanted baby and her husband losing his job. A studio session was booked three weeks after these terrible events, and at the session her producer, Andy Baker, had asked her to sum up how she felt about it in one sentence. Helen replied, “If that’s the way it has to be…”, and a song was born. Helen then recorded the song on the same day through a sea of tears and stops and starts. The song is so beautiful, and was sung by Helen at the intimate gig with such feeling and vulnerability, that many in the audience struggled to maintain composure, myself included. This was followed up by another great cover, this time of the Bob Dylan classic, Make You Feel My Love, which has more latterly been made popular by Adele.

After singing another track from the new album, Helen skilfully lightened the mood with the tale of how the following song, Since I Met You, from her 2004 album, Conversations With The Heart, was conceived. After being pursued by her now husband at university for some time Helen finally gave in and started dating him, and she was so consumed by the relationship that her normally organised world went into complete chaos, sparking the lyrics for this catchy song. This track was followed by another from the new album, When The Time Comes, before the upbeat Never Too Late rounded off the evening.

Helen’s relaxed style, combined with the charming intimate venue and great set list, served to create a perfect and emotional performance which captivated the audience and took her to their hearts.

Helen’s new album, Sirens and other Mysteries, is released on 5th April 2013 and will be available digitally from iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby and on CD from www.helensandersonwhite.com.

EP REVIEW- Among The Echoes, "Freak"

Following their popular gig at Birmingham’s O2 Academy in January Birmingham band, Among The Echoes, have been busy recording a new four track EP, Freak. The addition of producer and guitarist Sam Wale to the band’s line up has added both a new dimension and sparkle to their already polished sound, which skilfully manages to fuse 80s electronica akin to Fiction Factory, Talk Talk and Depeche Mode with a more contemporary sound such as that from indietronica band M83.

The lead track, Freak, is an absolute earworm that swirls its way into your head with captivating ethereal synths, heavy bass, and dark vocals before stomping into the chorus with an uplifting 80s synth riff and vocals akin to Siouxsie Sioux and David Bowie, courtesy of Rachael O’Hara and Ian Wall respectively. The following song, Talk Talk, continues this powerful theme teaming Phil Lockhart’s brilliantly fuzzy bassline with escalating vocals which become fantastically needy by the end of the track. Steve Turrell’s soaring synth in the chorus intensifies the great drop that follows, with the band’s trademark dark edge being present throughout.

Whilst still firmly in the same vein, Pure, manages to bring a slightly more rock feel to the table courtesy of a gritty guitar backdrop in the chorus. The vocals are softer than the previous two tracks but this provides a great contrast, and serves to create a fantastic build up to the final track, Feels Like Heaven. This track covers Fiction Factory’s popular electronic hit of the 80s in a new, unexpected way, resulting in nostalgic electronica with a new twist. With a slow, moody beat overlaid by an otherworldly synth and gravelly rock guitar, the vocals weave in and out of the verses and chorus to an escalating interlude, before bringing the EP to a shuddering close. Fiction Factory’s Eddie Jordan gives a ringing endorsement of Among The Echoes’ new version of Feels Like Heaven calling it “amazing”, and he is not wrong.

With fantastic production by Sam Wale, fans of dark wave, 80s electronica and indie synth pop will not be disappointed with this EP. Freak is released for digital download on 1st April and is available on Amazon, iTunes, CDBaby and the usual digital outlets.

Hear the first exclusive radio play of the EP in full on Johnny Normal's Radio Show at www.radio-happy.com on Tuesday 26th March between 20:00 and 22:00 UK time!

Track listing:
1. Freak
2. Talk Talk
3. Pure
4. Feels Like Heaven

Links:
Among The Echoes website
Sam Wale Productions website