Martes 29 Nov 2011, 4:07

Mon 28 Nov – The Staves, Paul Thomas Saunders, Katy Rose & The Cavalry Parade
Six pounds doesn't get you much these days, unless you're lucky. I was lucky to stumble across The Staves as part of the Moseley Folk Festival and was keen to see them in a more intimate environment. And for my six pounds I got three artists that gave me an evening of simple pleasure.
Katy Rose & The Cavalry Parade started proceedings. She sang pleasant songs delivered with humour and a simple clean vocal style. Paul Thomas Saunders was much more surprising. With his rock star hairdo I was expecting much more style than content. However, as soon as he started to sing it was obvious that he has real talent. His songs were well crafted with soaring vocals effortlessly flying over sonic landscapes that put me in mind of Portishead and the guy came across as painfully shy.
And with The Staves I got exactly what I expected to hear. Their achingly beautiful vocal harmonies are what raise them above the also-rans. They look and sound like the natural successors to The Corrs but hopefully they won't end up in the same bland mainstream territory. At the moment you get three part vocal harmonies backed predominantly by acoustic guitar and/or ukelele. They did get some minimalist backing by a drummer and bass player during some tracks. What attracted me to the Staves is the simple purity of their music. It is unashamedly romantic and in it's unadulterated setting sounds exquisite. Extra instrumentation seems to destroy the delicacy that gives it its ephemeral beauty. Doubtless they will progress and their sound will develop and I wouldn't be at all surprised if they go on to great things. But I'm glad I got to see them now, because at the moment they are the aural equivalent of watching a butterfly flit around a meadow on a sunny day.