Noah & The Whale and Soko Live

Noah And The Whale, Soko
Scala, London
Wednesday 4th July 2008

Believe it or not, but a folk band could be about to get big. Noah and the Whale not only pack out this ample venue, they fill it with more woozy, swaying fun than can rightly be expected from a band that just lost their most-lauded member.

Tonight, Noah are sans-Marling, but another sprightly songstress is here. French performer Soko has garnered a sizeable reputation with some teasing, petite performances of late. Her formula of Parisian cutesy-pie unawareness mixed with endearingly raw songwriting raises smiles, despite dreadful guitar playing.

However, having gone about half hour playing novelty songs like ‘Peanut Butter’ – guess what that one’s about - she is joined by Peggy Sue & The Pirates’ Katy Klaw who is asked to meow like a cat for an entire track. While attempting to be kitsch, it’s just plain atrocious.

Just in case she seems too sweet and innocent, a song called ‘My Wet Dreams’ is chucked in. The audience laughs, but the musical merit of the show is non-existent. Most exasperatingly, she ends with ‘I Will Never Love You More’, a wonderfully candid, thoughtful lullaby. It utterly outshines the rest of the shambolic set, leaving many wistful wonders of what might have been.

Though the crowd lap up Soko’s gimmicky dross, when Noah arrive onstage it only takes a few notes of Charlie Fink’s yawning, yearning voice to improve things considerably. They play ‘Mary’ early, its balancing beam of lovelorn pondering and fiddle jiggery an uplifting sign of the set’s direction.

There are slow, solicitous songs of brooding hopefulness, like ‘Two Bodies One Heart’ and ‘Peaceful’; then there are jumpy, joyous numbers like ‘Five Years Time’. Often, they flit between the former and the latter in a matter of syllables, such as on new single ‘Shape of My Heart’, a delicately poised blend of lyrical perturbation and harmonious elevation. They are assertively delivered, the seven-piece clearly elated at the reception they receive, with coy little dance routines even springing up in the audience.

Without Laura Marling, Slow Club’s Rebecca fills in, but fails to make much of an impression, flittering uncertainly in the background. Still, Charlie’s piercing stare and sensitive strumming hold the attention, while even a replacement drummer cannot deflect from the taut togetherness of the group.

Nevertheless, meaningful this isn’t. While the lyrics have poetic leanings and the music lofty aspirations, some songs are pure throwaway pop. The choice of covering The Temptations’ ‘Don’t Look Back’ typifies this; it’s a jubilantly played, bubblegum moment. They are lured back for two encores of toe-tapping pleasure, even playing ‘Five Years Time’ again with a cut of The Drifters’ ‘Sweets For My Sweet’ tagged on the end. Despite the fiddle and fiddly arrangements, Noah and the Whale are no folk band. Just clean good fun.