Thursday, February 09, 2006
Nixey - CDUK live review
Sarah Nixey @ Islington Academy
25/1/06
In the years since cult band Black Box Recorder went on an indefinite hiatus, it’s been easy to forget their dark brand of electro pop. In a time before Alison Goldfrapp and perhaps even Sophie Ellis–Bextor, Sarah Nixey, Black Box Recorder's frontwoman, was the closest thing you’d find to royalty in the charts.
Elegant yet acerbic, Sarah’s Queen’s English pronunciation and chic beauty made her a pinup for geeky indie boys everywhere. And so, at Nixey’s first solo gig (supporting former bandmate, Luke Haines), it’s no surprise to see the sparse audience made up of misty-eyed thirty-somethings.
Taking to the stage with a small band and backing singer, Sarah draws coos from the audience as she launches into the magnificent ‘Love and Exile’. Feeling not dissimilar to her old work, this glides along broodingly with a scratchy synth backing track.
‘Strangelove’, Sarah's self-described dance anthem, is certainly a move away from her typical sound. Her vocals are less detached and include a pleasant, shouty “Hey” hook reminiscent of Moloko’s ‘Pure Pleasure Seeker’. It's perhaps the most chart-likely of the tracks we hear tonight.
A short but sweet set. Sarah clearly still has many more entrancingly bitter and elegant stories left to tell us.
written by Talia Kraines
25/1/06
In the years since cult band Black Box Recorder went on an indefinite hiatus, it’s been easy to forget their dark brand of electro pop. In a time before Alison Goldfrapp and perhaps even Sophie Ellis–Bextor, Sarah Nixey, Black Box Recorder's frontwoman, was the closest thing you’d find to royalty in the charts.
Elegant yet acerbic, Sarah’s Queen’s English pronunciation and chic beauty made her a pinup for geeky indie boys everywhere. And so, at Nixey’s first solo gig (supporting former bandmate, Luke Haines), it’s no surprise to see the sparse audience made up of misty-eyed thirty-somethings.
Taking to the stage with a small band and backing singer, Sarah draws coos from the audience as she launches into the magnificent ‘Love and Exile’. Feeling not dissimilar to her old work, this glides along broodingly with a scratchy synth backing track.
‘Strangelove’, Sarah's self-described dance anthem, is certainly a move away from her typical sound. Her vocals are less detached and include a pleasant, shouty “Hey” hook reminiscent of Moloko’s ‘Pure Pleasure Seeker’. It's perhaps the most chart-likely of the tracks we hear tonight.
A short but sweet set. Sarah clearly still has many more entrancingly bitter and elegant stories left to tell us.
written by Talia Kraines
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