This mid-week comedy night and the incense-scented, iconoclastic opulence of the venue all seem out of place in this ambivalent area of West London. Headliner Andrew Lawrence pointedly voiced his bemusement at this corner of the capital.

The paired terraces of Kilburn Lane have an air of God’s waiting room about them. Fittingly, the laughter loft at Paradise has also adopted a limbo-like quality. A Soho-style crucifix glows red behind the performers and the crowd seemed quite content to sit at the celestial stop light for a couple of hours.

Compère Jeff Leach revelled in being in rutting control of this event, offering up choice titbits of last summer’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival show and gleefully welcoming six diverse and accomplished comedians.

Joel Dommett was breezy and affable in his delivery as he kicked off the evening’s entertainment in earnest. The audience softened to the detestable dance that is getting around London as he laid out his own delightful recent experiences on the city’s streets.

He was followed by Matthew Highton who showcased some daring and different material, proposing some games and proffering some curious David Bowie poses from the past. Tom Webb presented a well-executed haughty demeanour as he put ticks against successful new material and toyed with those at the front.

Eric Lampaert confessed he was off his game having had a day of duelling with poison-tongued tweeters. All stared on as the gangling Lampaert indulged his inner torment, which seems to have arisen from the antipathy he has received following recent appearances on ITV2’s OMG! With Peaches Geldof. Intermittently his impromptu catharsis was a bit of a giggle but it was a shame not to see him at his truly unique and striding best.

The aforementioned bill-topper, Andrew Lawrence, was faultless from start to finish. He unleashed his honed snappy monologues with characteristic enmity, each one a long incisive sigh of personal and universal disappointment.

The real treat came in the form of a stand-up return from regular BBC face-twister David Schneider. He injected music, dance and physical comedy into the middle of the night, assuming the role of the jam in Jeff’s donut.

It was a polite and somewhat timid audience on the night but an undoubtedly impressive line-up. If more raucous regulars latch on to Leach’s supply of quality comics then this night has the potential to become a weekly slice of comedy heaven in Kensal Green.

By Daniel Baird

LEACH ON SOCIETY COMEDY CLUB @ PARADISE BY WAY OF KENSAL GREEN
Every Wednesday, 19 KILBURN LANE, LONDON, W10 4AE
Join their Facebook Group HERE

Kingston seems to have this incredible ability to churn out some of the best alternative talent. Fuelled by great labels such as Big Scary Monsters, and one of the best independent record shops in London, Banquet Records, they often have a a strong and loyal fan-base.

Tangled Hair consists of two of the members from Colour. Now I was always a huge fan of their work, bringing some truly imaginative math-rock to the table. Tracks like Unicorns absolutely blew me away when they was released.

Strangled titled EP Apples starts with gangs screams before kicking straight into jazz infused math-rock, shifting abruptly between sections rapidly between vastly different sections. All this chaos soon settles though, with sing-along esq choruses with a twist. Time signatures change and morph constantly, whilst Welsh’s dynamic vocals flow over top.

It’s clear that this is a continuation from Colour, but with a certain maturity about it. Forty Winks flows through with great guitar work, featuring creative chords and soft vocals before moving into a tight instrumental jam. There’s some very jazzy bits, but it moves seamlessly between grooves and dynamic crescendos.

Campfires was released as a single before the EP, and definitely has more of a ‘indie’ song vibe, with clear verses-chorus structure. The difference is it’s all backed up by fast and complex guitar and drum work, and they do throw in the odd surprise here and there, including an epic chorus with the lyrics ‘can you hear me/through the history’, and a beautifully soft outro.

Daylight #1 & 2 finish of the EP, and is just as brilliant as the previous tracks. Chords change out of nowhere before flying into 4/4 timing and then darting into god-knows-what. Of course, there is the obligatory ‘WOO’ from drummer Trood, who I would recommend seeing just for the banter he produces live. #2 complicates things even further (in a good way), with shifting time signatures and split chords moving harmonically but in no was conventionally.

Colour’s split left a big void in my musical life, and I’m glad it wasn’t the end of what was a group of talented musicians. This is a great debut, with imaginative songwriting and plenty of math-jazz-rock to keep you amused with every listen.

Buy Apples

These guys are killer live. Catch them here:

30.03 – Portsmouth, Edge of The Wedge
31.03 – Ipswich, The Swan
01.04 – Birmingham, The Flapper
02.04 – Kingston, The Peel
05.04 – London, Old Blue Last

By Mark Allen

‘Iconic, controversial and a sexual beast, Serge Gainsbourg is the natural candidate for a biopic; with an eclectic music career that spanned about 30 years – and a personal life that likely spanned at least twice as many women – director Joann Sfar would not have had to dramatise much to produce an engaging plot.

Dramatise he does, however, as Gainsbourg (Vie héroique) is imbued with a
fantastical style that distinguishes it from typically realist efforts in
the genre. Based on a graphic novel by Sfar himself, the film features
cartoonish figures of Gainsbourg’s imagination, which he psychotically, yet
whimsically, interacts with; they represent a struggle with his Jewish
identity (which seems to subside by adulthood), and a more persistent
desire for prosperity and casual sex at the expense of fulfilling
relationships.

Indeed, Gainsbourg is portrayed as a troubled individual whose success eventually gets the better of him, culminating in alcoholism, personal neglect and alienation from his family. His final relationship with Caroline Paulus is born out of a crude and shallow proposition in a night club (‘You match my aesthetic criteria’) sharply contrasting with his wholesome marriage to the beautiful Jane Birkin.

Such disrepair only marks the end of the film, however, and for most of it
we are treated to Gainsbourg at his charismatic best. Kacey Mottet Klein
does a fine job of portraying the musician as a young boy, flaunting a
precocious charm that will make you question you own abilities with women.
Set against a strict domestic atmosphere and a time of Jewish
marginalisation, we have all the makings of a vie héroique.

By adulthood, Gainsbourg has grown into a fully fledged maestro, and the two sections of his life are fittingly conjoined by two symbols: music and women, the outlets for this artist’s intrinsic passion. We watch him grow more confident – perhaps a little smug – as success begins to light his name.

Sfar therefore manages to depict his hero comprehensively with a distinguishable style that altogether makes this a highly enjoyable film to watch. It satisfies the cinematic story arc of character growth, but then undoes it with a dissolution that is tragically reflective of reality. Gainsbourg was not a handsome man, but at the zenith of his career he was ‘beautiful’; by its collapse, he was branded by Catherine Ringer – a previous admirer – a ‘disgusting old parasite’. Harsh, but Sfar seems to agree.’

By Joshua Feldman

Shown as part of 2010′s LFF Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye world music odyssey was one of the highlights of the whole festival. Heading to Kinshasa to film their documentary they came upon a street band, many of them disabled through Polio, called Staff Benda Bilili, headed by Ricky. The film follows the band as they try to record their first album amidst the daily turmoil of what life is really like for those living in the Congolese slums.