OXFORD: The Bullingdon

Saturday 10th November, 2012

7:30pm

Event information

This summer The Dreaming Spires release their debut album ‘Brothers in Brooklyn’ on Clubhouse Records. The album was preceded by the single 'Not Every Song From The Sixties Is A Classic'.

The band has an enviable musical pedigree. Group members - and brothers - Robin and Joe Bennett formerly played with not one but two influential bands - Goldrush and Danny & the Champions of the World, and co-founded not one but two award-winning festivals, Truck & Wood. They also staged an event... (Truck America) in Upstate New York where they jammed with Mercury Rev, Tim Easton and The Jayhawks (all of whom are now fans of the Spires) provided backing for The Band’s Garth Hudson and toured America with Mark Gardener of Ride.   It’s the latter experience – traipsing across the States in a beat-up Chevrolet van with no mirrors – that informs much of Brothers in Brooklyn.

Whilst albums about tours can be a snooze-fest, The Dreaming Spires take their cue from Mott the Hoople in chronicling the lows and highs of being in a not-quite successful band in an alien land. The real story is in the people and relationships established along the way, and “the real show” is back at someone’s house in the desert hours after the gig finished.  It’s also about the true and inescapable drive that leads musicians to continue pursuing the dream long after any thoughts of guitar-shaped swimming pools have expired – “we do it ‘cos we must, ‘cos we need this the most” – the magic of forming lasting friendships and writing timeless songs.   

On the album The Dreaming Spires more or less ditch any attempt at sounding artificially ‘modern’ (which of course usually means sounding like a forgotten Flock of Seagulls B-side). This album unashamedly celebrates and name-checks the artists, songs and second-hand vinyl the band love, as does their ongoing club night Covered in Glory at The Betsey Trotwood, where they’ve so far gathered friends to play songs by Big Star, Gram Parsons, The Band and The Byrds.   After the success of last year’s debut single “Everything All The Time”, this album fills out the picture of what can be achieved by writing 11 great songs and recording them simply with great playing and harmonies, an exceptional offering from a band who celebrate transatlantic brotherhood in style.

The Hi & Lo
Just two musicians and a boot full of instruments The Hi and Lo first appeared together in 2007 singing Bob Dylan songs in the rain. A little over a year later they completed a debut album of original material and were playing extensively on the hip London country-folk scene. In 2010 the duo’s profile continues to rise with a booking at Gateshead’s Summertyne Americana festival at The Sage alongside Rosanne Cash, Jakob Dylan and Howe Gelb.

Consisting of songwriters Nick Bott and Paul McClure the duo takes a democratic approach to its material and performance. Onstage instrumental and lead vocal duties swap backward and forth mirroring the writing credits for each tune. Surrounded by a combination of drums, banjo, electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin and harmonicas, the duo creates a sound far bigger than the sum of its parts. With tales of love, obsession and death, shot through with humour and wit, their music is a contemporary take on established themes, owing a debt to the past yet remaining in touch with the present.

The band appeared at this year’s Truck Festival and will have a new album out soon.