Institute of Contemporary Arts

The Bookhouse Boys + Johnny Flynn

Date: 11 November 2008

Bookhouse Boys. Photo: Sam Grady

Alan Bernard Morgan

What a treat for tonight's audience: fresh from his American shows with Laura Marling, Johnny Flynn surprises as special guest minus his usual backing outfit, the Sussex Wit. He gives them a complimentary mention and you can't help but feel he needed them there to add to his performance. His wonderful debut Brown Trout Blues packs a punch, but acoustically you don't quite get the same rhythm from his jangly, country beats. Saying that, he seems to have a devoted following down the front who are only too happy to stamp along to opener Tickle Me Pink. In between songs, Johnny does his best to interact with humorous anecdotes, but generally wants to let his music do the talking. Tonight he does that with aplomb.

There is a lot to be said for Bookhouse Boys, who are still relatively new to the game. They have their own idiosyncratic sound for sure, but often their music gives a nod to Arcade Fire, Nick Cave, and even Muse. A brass section, dual drumming and multi-part vocals form the band, Van Oestren and the band's only female member Catherine Turner vocally waltzing around each other as she shimmies in her dress, flicks back her jet black hair and pouts like posh spice. The Bookhouse Boys' swirling, full-bodied sound relies very much on the dynamic musical interplay of these nine extremely accomplished musicians.

For all the attention that will be paid to their music, Van Oestren and The Bookhouse Boys also shine in the lyrical department, creating unsettling psychological melodramas of a timeless nature. Indeed, David McComb would have been proud of the opening lines of Shoot You Down: "I give up the world for you/Now I open my doors to you/I'll take off your skirt for you/And bury my dirt in you." With all the economic problems we face at the moment, at least the crowd can go away tonight pleased with the healthy state of British music.

Listen to the Bookhouse Boys play Dead, live at the ICA.

Listen now (mp3)