Broken Records’ Thursday night situation in Oran Mor is rather less than regular and potentially one or both of the following scenarios are at play: in the intervening years between album releases their Glasgow fan base has been lured away by the dastardly yet upbeat synth-led 80’s revival bands now more common than Coca Cola glazed pulled pork or the combination of Fresher’s Week, a swathe of other gigs by arguably bigger acts has resulted in a less than desired audience turnout, whatever the reason, it’s not an ideal situation in which to showcase your best and most critically acclaimed work to date.
Clearly, and quite understandably, rather irked by the poor attendance it takes them a while to get into their swing, however once they accept the gig for what it is they noticeably relax, open up and begin to remember what a solid and often moving collection of musicians they can be.
Once they finally get down to business, they are almost unmatched in the ease with which they ably garner the attention of a room.
‘Ditty (We Weren’t Ready)’ opens the set, a fantastic and stirring opener from their most recent album release Weights and Pulleys and is a tentative indicator of the set to come, sometimes moving and occasionally overtly self-aware but always spirited.
‘See You on the Way Down’, an early EP track, burns with an intensity similar to that of Leadbelly’s ‘In The Pines’ and appears to galvanise the group to the extent that they resolve to give their audience, no matter how meagre, all they have.
‘Winterless Son’ sounds equally as powerful live as it does on record and Broken Records admirably put their back into it.
Singer/guitarist Jamie Sutherland has a truly beautiful and unique tone to his voice that can at times be rough and devastatingly emotive, however when not singing, and possibly in an attempt to compensate for the turnout, he chats to the audience much too frequently and should perhaps follow the example shown by his silent (and therefore inscrutable) sibling on violin.
‘I Won’t Leave You in the Dark’, the final track before the encore, evidences the talent on display when Broken Records really go for it, the brass section and guitars mingle in a wonderful mess evoking the most stirring balls out tracks in Springsteen’s back catalogue and it is clear that after two albums of mixed range and reception Broken Records really now seem to understand what their message is and how they wish to communicate it.
Words: David McPhee
Photos: Stewart Fullerton
