Review: Laurel Collective at MAO

Laurel Collective took to the stage with an apology – “sorry guys, our drummer has had a bad encounter with oysters, so just try to imagine the pounding drums” – but despite being one man down, they rarely missed a beat.

The band certainly can’t be easily pigeonholed – refreshingly unique, they draw from such a variety that they have self-christened their style as ‘skronky mix-up pop’.

Laurel Collective’s debut album, Heartbeat Underground, is funky to say the least and vocalists Martin Sakutu and Bob Tollast balance each other out smoothly.

They’re also a versatile bunch – Sunshine Buddy, a particularly strong track (about a ‘solar-powered toy’) brought out their busier and kookier aspects, opening with a cracking riff and innovative vocal layering.

Laurel Collective also love to rhyme – good if that’s something you look for in a band, less good when the lyrics seem totally beholden to an arbitrary rhyme scheme.

Luckily for music fans they weren’t the only talent on show – support acts Peter & Kerry and Dogtanion, all from the same label and all promoting debut albums, also impressed. Dogtanion’s lyrics were strong and self-deprecating, new single Islam is particularly impressive.

Ambitiously, for this set he eschewed his usual electronic backing for the stripped down approach of a man and his guitar, and it worked excellently – a real tribute to his stunning vocal talents.

Taken together it was a grand showcase of up and coming talent from the Tape Club Records label, and it worked well in the intimate basement setting of Modern Art Oxford – these are most definitely ones to watch.

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