Cornish Rock of the seaside variety is not the normal staple of gigs at The Cornish Bank.
But when the brilliant Falmouth music venue recently hosted the album launch party for The Golden Dregs sticks of rock were at the fore, although not in the way you would expect.
The Golden Dregs formed in Falmouth by Truro boy Ben Woods and featuring members from Mylor Bridge and Truro are now based in South London where they recently signed to premier “indie” label 4AD.
They have just released their first album with the label, On Grace and Dignity to much critical acclaim.
The album is based on Ben’s experiences working on a building site in Truro during lockdown and features an imaginary seaside Cornish village called Polgras on the cover.
As part of the promotion sticks of seaside rock were produced with the name of the band and the village running through them.
However at the album launch last Saturday, one member of the band managed to hit Ben’s mum directly between the eyes when throwing them from the stage. Luckily she saw the funny side of it but it still hurt!
However, despite the dodgy health and safety aspect the home town gig was a triumph with Ben’s unique low singing style reminiscent of Bill Callahan and Lee Hazelwood combined with clever and witty songs wowed the home crowd.
The all dressed in white six piece used to include Ben’s sister Hannah on saxophone but she left to pursue a career in the art world, with band member Ted substituting her solos with a clarinet, not an instrument usually associated with a rock band but I don’t know why because it really works.
Ben has grown in confidence as a performer and the band really work well together on stage in translating the laidback vibe of the album into a live setting.
I love the instrumentation that you don't expect, like the ghostly in another room piano, the little weird solo at the end of Sundown Lake as well as the lovely languid guitar solo on Beyond Reasonable Doubt and the Orange Juice/Edwin Collins vibe of Vista with gorgeous backing vocals from the rest of the band.
The Golden Dregs have a US, UK and European tour planned for April and May, catch them if you can.
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