Lach plus Y'all Is Fantasy Island @ Edinburgh, 25 Jul

they create a sound that is as immediate as rock and as intimate as folk.
EVENT REVIEW BY GARETH K VILE.


PUBLISHED 14 AUGUST 2006

Both Adam Stafford and Lach come from a tradition of folk performers who want to play rock'n'roll. With an attention to language and a single guitar, they create a sound that is as immediate as rock and as intimate as folk. Cabaret Voltaire is the ideal space for these musicians: small enough to allow communication between artist and audience, with a good sound system and a relaxed ambience.

Y'all is Fantasy Island's debut album, 'In Faceless Towns Forever' is a melancholic slice of charming folk music, but front man Adam Stafford's solo set tonight was invigorating and direct. Leaving behind the cello and clarinet of the recorded versions, he exposed his songs of longing and quiet despair to ferocious acoustic guitar, revealing a strong poetic sensibility and a howling emptiness that would make Johnny Cash scowl. 

In the middle of his short set, he switched to electric guitar and explored a more subtle approach that still managed to grab the attention: his confident stage presence and earnest passion ensured that a warm response from the audience.

Lach is a more seasoned performer than Adam Stafford, and his between song patter established an easy rapport with the small crowd. Although he can be a little one dimensional musically - he attacks his acoustic guitar with punk rock intensity, tearing into instrumental breaks with layers of distortion - his lyrics range from the humorous to the moving. 

In under an hour, he managed to cover politics, Spider Man (apparently a "traditional New York folk song"), drunken mothers, teenage alcoholism and even arctic explorers- this last one an improvised response to an audience request. While at times he can be maudlin and obvious - his song about his difficult relationship to his homeland in the USA was dour and tokenistic, setting himself, by turns, as black and gay - he is capable of uproarious comedy; Drinking Beer with Mom is both slapstick and a paean to the rock'n'roll lifestyle.

His set did drag after a while; there are only so many times a Dylanesque drawl and a strummed guitar in overdrive can impress. However, his sensitivity to the crowd's mood and sharp wit kept the performance from flagging for too long, and he ended on a powerful and funny finale. His records are, comparatively, a pale shadow of his dynamic live show and he deserved the enthusiastic applause that greeted his self-consciously rocking Goodnight.