Live review from Mellow Yellow
1. Silhouette (Sun)
2. Cayman Island (cover)
3. Island
4. Night Night
The first ever ‘Mellow Yellow’ acoustic night at new venue The Hub was kicked off by local indie-folkster ‘Mr Muk 木子先生’. Opener ‘Silhouette (Sun)’ began with a soft fingerpicked acoustic guitar and Script-style chord progressions, before moving into a satisfying chorus, which drew parallels to Tracy Chapman. His voice was fragile and dreamy, thanks to distant reverb washes creating atmospheres similar to any sophomore Craft Spells track.
‘Cayman Island’ was an emotive cover of Norwegian folk-pop duo Kings of Convenience. This saw Mr Muk create an innovative muted brass sound with his voice, adding a hint of his own personality to the song, as well as an element of flair to a generally downbeat number. ‘Island’ (which was the first song he wrote seriously) continued the involvement of the horn sound, which was accompanied by sweetly plucked guitar. The whole track had a Ben Howard feel to it, from the vocal melody and lyrics to the chords and structure, whilst the reverberated horn sound added a dash of Portico Quartet to the palette.
Closer ‘Night Night’ could only be described as a jazz-lullaby, with its sweeping 3/4 rhythm, interesting chord shapes, and meandering melodies. Despite only being written the previous day, Mr Muk delivered a confident rendition as if the song had been performed for years. The four song set left the attentive crowd pining for more, and was the perfect start to the evening’s proceedings.
– Chris Gillett
