Angel Tech, Jon Gomm, Doubtful Guest, 11th Dec

11th December - Decode Unplugged - The Folk House

Doubtful Guest began by apologising that they were playing a 'plugged' set, at an unplugged gig, but then proceeded to put great big smiles on everybody's faces with their uptempo skiffle / Americana / country type music. It is a genre I guess, so while I didn't really get on with their ballad (on the whole, I don't really like Country), it is a style of music that this band do very well. Real toe-tapping stuff�

Jon Gomm is out there on his own as a guitarist. He utilises every aspect of the instrument, using the body to make various drum sounds, hands flying all over the fingerboard playing harmonics and melodies and rhythm all at the same time. When he does stop to just strum conventionally, usually in the choruses, I did find myself thinking how plain it sounded. The technique works better in some numbers, 'Stupid Blues' - an instrumental - is a good example, but in others it can be a bit annoying. Once you get past the cleverness of the playing however, the songs still need to be able to stand up on their own. His cover of Radiohead's 'High and Dry' leaves a lot to be desired as the emotional impact of the song has been sacrificed in favour of technique. The chorus is left quite literally high and dry. Overall the set was good though.

Sofia Gradin, also our compere for the evening, a 6ft-something Swedish Poet tells quirky stories of misfits and a world of moral pop stars. While her poetry is poignant and funny, her singing is neither and should probably be left at home.

When Angel Tech used to play in Bristol back in 1998 - 2000 (my student days) I tried to make it to every gig they did. I would evangelise to my friends, often failing miserably to satisfactorily explain why this would probably be the best gig they would attend as students.

The music still defies explanation. They really are a 'oh just listen to it', kind of band. It is imbued with a passion that hasn't really come across on any of their recordings. 'well there's this drummer, see, and he sings and plays the keyboards, and there's these other two who play bass guitar, keyboards, violin and they sing too, but their songs aren't really like songs as we know it� it starts quiet and gets intense and loud�' you can see why I had problems. Well you would if you went to see them. There is no-one to compare this band to.

So I was fairly excited, to say the least, that after a few years' sabbatical, the trio are back, this time doing an acoustic set. The music - gentle, passionate, intense, theatrical, frightening, beautiful - I think it is testament enough that after the first couple of songs, the audience chatter had all but disappeared as everyone strained to catch every word, every note. Angel Tech are finally back, let's hope that this time they get the break they truly deserve (an interview about 'what happened' can be found at Choke).