We. are. PUMPED! to be welcoming alt – pop legends Mesadorm back to the Rose Hill!! Possibly one of the best vocalists in the UK Holy wow, they’re last show round ours sold out quick and was a real highlight for us. Mesadorm return with a new album, promising another evening of fantstic musicianship, song-craft and energy. Read more below:
The Band
Mesadorm is a collaborative project between five lifelong friends Blythe Pepino (Vaults, Blythe, The John Martyn Project), Aaron Zahl (Chairfight!), Daisy Palmer (Rae Morris, Goldfrapp, Chairfight!), Jo Silverston (The Unthanks, Red Clay Halo, Frank Turner) and David Johnston (ZunZun Egui, Phil King, Chairfight!).
Having known each other since they were teenagers and weathered various phases of romance, friendship, life and musical outfits, all five players have a unique connection that plays out with a depth and assuredness that creates a mesmeric, emotional and transportative live show.
The Sound
Mesadorm are not easy to place in a genre, spanning somewhere between Art Rock and Dream Pop. The lyrics can feel like the domestic observation of Suzanne Vega, the vocals harmonies reach into the elemental other-worldliness of Bjork, the moaning guitars and synths carry the raw emotive dissonance of Radiohead and their obtuse structures summon to mind bands like Dirty Projectors, Voka Gentle and Arthur Russell.
The Third Album: Comfort & Lies
With Heterogaster (and Epicadus; the live acoustic version of the same album) the songs were penned by Pepino, produced by Zahl and instrumental parts fleshed out on the road. Their second album, Pollinator, saw the group starting to branch into free flow jam sessions to bring Pepino’s ideas to life and saw her move into the production seat. Album three, Comfort and Lies, finds her letting go of the instrumental compositional reins even further with tunes mostly created or built via jam sessions at Invada in Bristol, engineered by Tim Allen (Bat For Lashes) who has subsequently gone on to mix the album. Post tracking has involved string lines and horn parts (Pete Judge excelling here) resulting in a wider, more live in-the-studio sound at times; albeit a studio that exists somewhere in another, eschewed, dimension. Tackling Pepino’s childhood and her recent estrangement from her mother, on a micro level this is a very vulnerable album that investigates painful scars around the idea of home, love, motherhood and care, whilst on a macro level the same themes become about her uncomfortable relationship to an increasingly dystopic Britain.
couple of tunes from older Heterogaster + Pollinator albums:
A couple of tunes from upcoming album release:
FAYE HOUSTON + MIKE SHIRLEY
Opening the night is Faye Houston and Mike Shirley – a duo built on deep musical connection and years of collaboration through Resonators and beyond. If you’ve caught Faye’s voice at a Resonators show or Dub Organiser night, you’ll know you’re in for something special. Think Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin… but really, only Faye Houston sounds like Faye Houston. Together, they weave soul, folk and psych into something timeless, pure, honest and beautifully performed.