Wombat Wombat Twelfth Birthday Party // NAC - 14.12.2012
Wombat Wombat celebrates twelfth birthday in (dark) style.
For the last twelve years, Wombat Wombat has put on some great gigs and tonight’s twelfth birthday party ranks as one of the best.
First up, the acoustic guitar/vocals of Chad Mason. Fortunately, this was punky stuff played hard, in the vein of Bragg and TV Smith. Shame those in the Cafe Bar couldn’t keep the noise down whilst Chad was playing.
Into the auditorium for an incredibly assured debut from There’s Someone In The Pond and a sound influenced by the bluesy/rockabilly end of alternative rock, with hints of John Spencer Blues Explosion. Girls Against Boys. JAMC and Lydia Lunch. “Geoffrey” may just be the chorus of 2012.
Kabeedies/These Ghosts side project Tortoise Family Connections produce a varied but not cohesive noise, veering from postpunk to Britpop via folk and (nearly) acapella. The cover of E17’s 'Stay Another Day' was awful but very funny.
Finally, Cold In Berlin. At last, a band that is not scared of the dreaded the “G” word but rising above the limitations of goth, twisting the sounds of March Violets, Fields of the Nephilim or Mission at their best (and heaviest) to produce something new, interesting and entertaining. Maya is a brilliant frontwoman with a hurricane of a voice. Powerful, heavy, dark and, dare I say, gothic in a good way.
10/10 Pavlis
