Jeremy Warmsley with Absentee, 93 Feet East,
Is there anything better to ease your mind when you had a bad day than going out to a gig??? Yesterday, Jeremy Warmsley and Absentee definitely proved me right.
I usually like to go to gigs without knowing anything (or almost anything) about the artists I’m about to listen to. I knew a bit about Jeremy Warmsley, having his last single I Believe in the Way You Move, but nothing about Absentee, except their interview I read in the London Paper I found in the tube on my way to 93 Feet East. And the only thing I retained from it was that Dan had a very peculiar voice. And indeed, he has.
Dan’s voice (second guitar, voice) is probably Absentee’s main earmark. His very low-range voice seems to come from the abyss, but is softened up by Laurie’s monotonous one (Laurie plays the keyboards). You may not agree, but in a way Absentee reminds me of an inverted Camera Obscura, only having in common to write very good pop songs. Let me explain.
- They both associate male/female voices: Camera Obscura is centred on the very feminine voice of Tracyanne Campbell (sometimes) backed up by some male voices, whereas Absentee relies on Dan’s overly masculine organ, and Laurie brings a bit of feminine charm and softness;
- Absentee is more electric and rock’n’roll than Camera Obscura;
- Absentee makes kind of quirky and eccentric songs, whereas Camera Obscura is more, erm… well, let’s say normal! (But not without a certain sense of humour, especially on stage).
Hey, you know what? I think we’ve found the perfect match-up in the indie pop world: it's well-know that people are attracted by their opposite counterpart. I'm sure Camera Obscura and Absentee would make a so very romantic couple!
Anyway, Absentee may well be the next indie pop band of the year. And you should definitely lend them your ears.
Their website (songs, videos, gigs, etc.)
(And by the way, they can’t be bad at all when you see that they have listed Andrew Bird in their links page!)
After Absentee came Mr. Jeremy Warmsley. I would describe his music as a sort of experimental pop. He’s from 
I found his show very professional. Everything rolled on very smoothly, but I guess it helps when you know his songs before. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed it, but I particularly liked the songs I knew from his single, I believe in the way you move, not having listened to the songs on his myspace page before.
But his songs have definitely something. They have this very aerial feeling, consequence of both the tune and the impression of complexity in the composition. I must say, the more I’m listening to Jeremy Warmsley, the more I think what he has done so far is great. The balancing and redundant chorus of I Believe… is very catchy and sounds like a spell you would cast to someone to hypnotise her/him and make him/her love you. Yesterday, sung in duet with Emmy the Great, it was fantastic. I would also very heavily recommend you to listen to I Promise and its heady drums, and 5 verses. All must-hear, I guarantee.
Jeremy Warmsley is a gifted artist and it looks like he managed to find some people on stage who are able to enhance what he’s capable of. From what I heard yesterday, he doesn’t deserve less.
Yesterday was definitely one these shows you leave with a deep satisfaction, with this feeling that once again music has made your day. A very good ending for a very boring day, but I guess some charming company and a couple of pints helped it too…
