On a chilly Thursday night in January at the Norwich Arts Centre alternative club night Milkbar launched their very own independent record label, with, as yet with no actual records available. Partnering with Bare Feet Records who had a feast of quirky guitar/kazoo wielding musicians entertaining the bar flies amongst the crowd. First to don the stage were Cold Hands, whose energetic and captivating performance reflects their gutsy, punky vocals and attitude-ridden riffs. Even before the gig I had been told of their promising sound by a well-respected and long-serving local promoter. Next of the Milkbar boy’s club were Tawny Owl, usually a solo-project but backed tonight by The Birds Of Prey. Possibly the most interesting band on the label, they sound like they are saying something that is worth listening to, both in their lyrical and musical construction. Occasionally eerie, laptop induced sounds add an other-worldly feel and put these guys firmly in the ‘Ones to Watch’ category. Innovative composition and captivating harmonies coupled with frenzied percussion that simultaneously engaged and endeared the audience.

Time for a refill and never has a trip to the bar been so very distracting as I encountered the most excellent Max Avis strutting his stuff. Best known for a stunningly cheeky song about STD’s; described most succinctly by local Comedian Paul Knight as ‘a love song for an open relationship’.

The song details his response to suspicions of the fidelity of an ex-girlfriend and the rather practical yet mischievous method of approach. Tonight he also partnered with Eva Malmouth, dueting on an anti-folk, country cross-over ‘Back In Time’ that simply demanded feet to tap and hips to swing. In fact it’s still swimming around my head over a fortnight later. He is definitely one of the gems in the alternative Norwich crown. A natural performer at ease on the stage, his vocals managed to be both silky and gruff delivered with skilful emotive resonance.

Back to the main hall for the last of the Milkbar bands; The Romancing of Ballooning, a tight, polished four-piece that look and sound like they have been doing this forever. Quite notably inspired by Mystery Jets with their bouncy bass lines, harmonies and marching band-esque drumming that quickly had the crowd nodding and shaking their vintage knitwear clad bodies. Modest and self-deprecating it was refreshing to see quality accompanied by humility. The headlining band for the event was Jeremy Warmsley, a rather inconspicuous man with over-sized glasses, shirt and waistcoat he began his set with a beautiful keyboard based song that complemented his spine-tingling vocals. He deftly combined electronic produced sounds and exceptional harmonies with the bassist, whose name I have been unfortunately unable to track down. He began with a collection of his older songs from his first album ‘The Art of Fiction’ and, by the many mouths singing along, I was assuredly in the minority who came uninformed of this rather brilliant man.

Now on a drive to promote his second album ‘How We Became’, co-produced with Markus Dravs (Arcade Fire, Bjork) the pedigree of his music was immediately evident prior to the obtainment of this information. He introduced his new works with a brutal and honest declaration of the providence of his inspiration, drawn out after a period of depression. That was when it got very interesting. An awe-inspiringly positive rendition of such uplifting lyrics ensued. His voiced carried away into the rafters with inspiring content: ‘I can never be what I wanted to be, you can never be what you wanted to be, that’s okay with me’. Within seconds that line was ingrained in my mind therefore I have to disagree, Jeremy Warmsley is a man who can be everything he wants to be and that’s most certainly okay with me. A great night that challenged and destroyed my previous misconceptions of style over substance, these boys have got it all, they sound as great as they look. I look forward with anticipation to their next event.

Words & Photos > Amy Wragg