MUSIC CRATE » dharma bums http://musiccrate.co.uk A whole box of live music-ness and fluffy stuff Mon, 17 May 2010 12:53:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 The Dharma Bums http://musiccrate.co.uk/2009/07/the-dharma-bums/ http://musiccrate.co.uk/2009/07/the-dharma-bums/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:13:08 +0000 Swiss http://musiccrate.co.uk/?p=363 dharma bums

24/7 Magazine Review, “Watching the Dark Move”

“Steadily ploughing their own furrow of progressive neo-folk are Plymouths Dharma Bums. But dont expect any native roots manouvers on debut album proper ‘Watching the Dark Move’. As their entrancing and understated live shows attest, the Bums operate in a parallel acoustic sphere – one where gentle guitar caresses, plaintive violins and Nick Cave-esque keys provide the most desolately melancholic of backdrops to Jonny Powell’s ineffably melodramatic croon: to all intents, the sound of Conor Oberst having a panic attack. Or rapturous revelation. Or both. Either way, the likes of ‘Everything Depends’ provide the perfect soundtrack to the lives of those with a more autumnal disposition. Lord knows we need one.”

http://www.myspace.com/thedharmabumsfolk

]]> http://musiccrate.co.uk/2009/07/the-dharma-bums/feed/ 0 The Dharma Bums, Volksfest, 24th May http://musiccrate.co.uk/2009/05/the-dharma-bums-volksfest-24th-may/ http://musiccrate.co.uk/2009/05/the-dharma-bums-volksfest-24th-may/#comments Thu, 28 May 2009 13:23:00 +0000 Swiss http://musiccrate.co.uk/?p=276 dharma-bums1The Dharma Bums are fast gaining a good reputation for their epic brand of folk rock, and it was their set that prompted the previously wary crowds to set up camp in the festivals main arena on Sunday afternoon. Opening their set with ‘Robot Eyes’, they had the audience in a trance from the off, weaving together ethereal guitar lines, violin, clarinet, flute and piano amongst other things. With their ambitious arrangements it is easy to get lost in the full sound, but the Bums are also quite a spectacle, with eccentric vocalist Johnny Powell dramatically miming along with the songs, and Chris Derrick, the bands pianist and woodwind virtuoso, skipping between his instruments with amazing speed, much to the delight of the Bums newest converts beside me. Other songs to impress were ‘Square One’, and the beautiful ‘The Marks of the Days’, which highlights Powells extravagant vocal delivery, coming across at times like a male Kate Bush, which is, without doubt, a good thing. This bands star looks set to continue its rise in the South West, and hopefully their originality will see them expand their horizons even further in time to come.

Anthony Clifford

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