A Genuine Freakshow – Sunday 15th March 2009
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In melodramatic song it is all about that gravel road journey we take, hand-in-hand with the artist, on the way up to the larger-than-life crescendo finish. Those big expectations are seeded early – in the first few bars – then sealed and stressed in new verses within each movement. We have all been to places like this before -  those weepy movies watched on the sofa with  mother, or the two hour soap-a-thon specials on a Sunday. One of the first musical melodramas of this kind (outside of classical music) was the legendary Beatles epic “A Day in the Life”.

AGF provided all those familiar excesses, and more, in a performance of such painful heart sobbing emotion and tension that we ended up feeling completely exhausted after the show. Our nails were bitten to the quick and our nerves were crushed. It was high school drama- in a musical form.

The sounds of this band are grandiose and eloquent. They are opulent in the same way that opera is. But at least A Genuine Freakshow tends to maintain some sense of proportion, so their conclusions are not as stately or as impassioned as something that Jim Steinman  /  Meat Loaf might come up with.  Instead think ‘Morrisey with orchestration’ to get some idea of what this young band has to offer.

The highly complex Freakshow sound is achieved by a group of seven musicians (looking something like a ‘SpecSavers Advert’.) The main man is Tim Sutcliffe – prima vocals and rhythm guitar. He is joined at the ‘rock end’ by Simon Evans on lead guitar, John Szmidt on bass guitar and Jack Bryant on drums. Up the stern faced ‘posh end’ of the show we have Melanie Dickson on electric cello, Marianne Casey Canning on electric fiddle and Mr. John Dunstan on trumpet.

The effect of all these instruments working together towards an inevitable climax is like being on a gruelling trek through the foothills of pain and hysteria before attempting the nursery slopes of mounting heartache. The suspense is nerve tingling
and not for the faint hearted. In each of their songs the band accomplishes a climbing ‘wall of sound’.  But often the songs are strange folksy anthems, reminding me of The Pogues or Fairport Convention. Like British folk songs, the tunes are often a trifle effete in their whimsy, quirkiness and lightness-of-being.

Torch singer Tim Sutcliffe is the ‘Nigella’ of the vox mic. He is all gasping and girly in that flirty and coquettish way…his voice is, quite simply, hauntingly beautiful. This mesmerising young dogie is like a luxurious cutting-edge version of Dido / James Blunt. If you close your eyes you may hear some Freddie in the high notes too.  His performance at The Hobgoblin, Staines was captivating. Simon on lead guitar provides an abundance of thick slices and power cords, whilst John on the bass (in one Spinal Tap moment played with a bow) provides the locomotion. The marching band type drums are all half-beats twirls and twinkles. The ‘classical’ instruments create that layer-cake of sound and add moans, mystery and intrigue. I would like to have heard the trumpet a little more ( the instrument seems to be prominent on the recordings) but that is a tiny gripe. All-in-all the arrangements were a huge success in a ‘write the theme toon…sing the theme toon’ type of way.

A Genuine Freakshow is not for everybody. Whilst I heard one person declare, “That is beautiful, that is” I also heard someone else say “that was pretentious twaddle”. Yes, maybe the band does tend to gravitate towards the mawkish – the realm of scarlet ribbons, little boy blue and red balloons….but the sounds are not so stickily sweet that the whole thing becomes a nightmare. This band manages to neatly balance upon the tightrope of good taste. I would like to have heard some more vocal
harmonies from the other band-members (Tim is the sole singer) and I would also have liked to have seen a smile or two from the classical musicians – look like you are enjoying it! I would also have liked a bit more attitude, perhaps a bit of de-wop-de-wop, from the trumpet.

Hypnotic and fanciful they may be, but A Genuine Freakshow really are a truly remarkable act. I predict that they have a huge future ahead of them.

Neil_Mach March 2009
(Review Exclusive for Buckleup Promotions)

© Neil_Mach

March 2009

exclusive for Buckleup Promotions