Au Revoir Simone – Scala, London 10/06/2010

17 June 2010, 09:36 | Written by Adam Elmahdi

(Live)

“This song’s about…what IS this song about?” asks Guy Connelly of Clock Opera. It’s a damn good question. There’s times when the London band threaten to get interesting, but their lack of focus and direction is their own worst enemy. They can’t decide whether they want to be !!! or Mùm, and end up sounding like a sub-par version of both. Any potential moments of subtlety are mercilessly bludgeoned by sledgehammer drums and overall, they sadly come across as another British band whose laudable ambition is curtailed by dreadfully leaden execution. But at least they were better than Silver Columns, the ill-conceived disco side-project of The Pictish Trail and Adem. Whilst it’s nice to see two gentleman of advancing years enjoy themselves so much, the actual music was so unadventurous and derivative I think it made me cry a little. Good line in fairy lights though.

So it was up to Au Revoir Simone to save the evening, and save it they did. With more complex, emotionally synth-pop bands in the ascendant (Beach House, take a bow), there’s moments where the all-female New York trio seemed a little insubstantial, but for the most part simplicity works in their favour. There’s something charmingly unpretentious about their poppier material, marrying the lo-fi ethos of the Brooklyn scene to perky major key melodies and winsome harmonising, and their psychedelic, proggier material proves there’s more to them than their twee reputation would suggest. True, the performance didn’t go entirely smoothly- after recounting the story of their ill-starred London debut where everything that could go wrong did go wrong, they were immediately beset by sound hitches and mic malfunctions galore. But all in all, this was a rousing send-off for a band who, with babies en route, may not be touring again for the foreseeable future. Au Revoir, Simone…but, hopefully, not goodbye.