THE BLACKHEART ORCHESTRA
VENUE THE ADMIRAL, GLASGOW DATE 21/03/2018
There are more instruments on stage than people in the audience, but that’s not going to hold The Blackheart Orchestra back. instead, duo chrissy Mostyn and rick Pilkington embark on the leanest of intense, intimate performances. There’s everything from folk to trance, canterbury scene to psychedelia, all delivered by a duo who seem to conduct natural music rather than create it.
Mostyn has a voice that sits somewhere between The cranberries’ vocalist Dolores O’riordan and a Nordic princess, while Pilkington has the father figure musical understanding of the eurythmics’ Dave Stewart. Together they blend into something that feels genuinely ethereal.
Their attention to detail is breathtaking. That becomes part of the music, as does stamping on the stage floor which they must have sussed earlier. The connection between the two of them is also amazing, as they occasionally move round each other while playing the same synth, and even share the drumming technique of flamming (hitting the skin with both sticks just an instant apart), using a stick each.
Note well, there are no backing tracks at any point – each of the 16 instruments on stage are used, usually more than three at a time, and yet the motion is such that there’s no sense of the pair pushing themselves to attain the accuracy they need to keep the mood moving. Plus, no song is overdone – once the idea is expressed they move on without ever labouring the point.
Drown Me Out ends what they describe as “the noisy stuff” and flows beautifully into the dreamier Sebastian, and Wolves. These two songs illustrate the delicate dynamic of their polyphonic structure, but the high point of the set is their peace anthem, Marching left To right. This sets Mostyn’s innocent, observant voice on the challenge of expressing the pointlessness of battle from a child’s viewpoint and is a real victory.
it would be sensual to the point of sexy if it wasn’t for all the innocence. That’s underlined by the fact that it’s not until the very last song, Hey Pluto, that Mostyn and Pilkington look each other in the eye. and when they do it’s almost orgasmic. The slight delay in the closing applause says everything: we happy few, we band of 14 brothers and sisters have to stop and ask ourselves, “Did that really happen?”
The Blackheart Orchestra’s music is pleading for a world that deserves it, making us hope it’s going to be this world. it’s naïve while being revealing, relaxing while being thought-provoking, and if you’re looking for a band that might help explain where we all are right now, it might just be these guys.