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@ the Boardwalk, Sheffield 30.11.02 (review © Jon Horne 2002) from Maverick magazine 
Mouse consist of a pencil-thin female singer with an exposed midriff and beads tied around her waist, alongside a hulking, lank-haired young male guitarist; both drunk or stoned, and both grinning rather sweetly as they stumble through another incoherent introduction to a song. Their particular vision of 1972 includes acting out a fantasy of being the sort of group who would have supported the Groundhogs or the Edgar Broughton Band - probably in a pub just like this one. Tonight they are supporting the Loscoe State Opera - a crusty, folky rock outfit with a decent following, but who don't sell any records - which fits the image rather nicely. The Boardwalk (formerly the Black Swan, a.k.a. the Mucky Duck) is celebrating thirty years as a live venue, and here I am listening to a group that is thirty years out of date. Style and presentation aside, there are some things whose value doesn't change over time, among them good singing, good playing, and good songs. Martha Mouse has one of the most powerful voices that you are likely to hear this year. Singing in a version of her natural voice and accent (Surrey but not too horsy) and rarely over-emoting, she could pass for Sandy Denny. However the tunes are bluesier than that: a more reasonable comparison would be Eva Cassidy. Occasionally - particularly during "Cycles" - she goes into a strange theatrical warble on the high notes, which rather ruins the effect. (In my notebook I scribbled: "Michelle-Shocked possessed by a goat." This was cruel and unfair of me). A powerful voice can be overbearing if the music is tentative or sloppy. Fortunately, Nick Mouse's playing belies his goofy stage presence. His fingerpicked rhythm guitar is confident and precise, with folky open tunings and a great feel for dynamics (helped by the Boardwalk's excellent sound system). Less impressive as a lead player, the duo are at their best when Martha plays simple, Hank Marvin-ish solos over Nick's constant peal-o'-bells picking. Mouse's problem is with the quality of their songs - especially the lyrics. All the songs are about bad love and/or good sex. Nothing wrong with that, except that they also include verses explaining, in Relate Counselling terms, exactly why the love is bad and the sex is good. Call me cold-hearted, but I don't care that Martha Mouse's private life involves a series of dysfunctional "cycles" dating back to childhood, and that these cycles came about because "all she ever wanted" was a father-figure. As a listener (given that this sort of music is unlikely to get me dancing) I want poetry, wit, and storytelling; I want images that tell me what's going on, not bald statements in therapy-speak. There is hope for Mouse. "By The Lake" is a fast, bluesy sex song without explanations and with a big stupid grin. In "The Tiniest Kiss", we hear about November breezes coming through a cracked window-frame, and a living room whose wallpapering the ex-boyfriend never got around to finishing. Details like these are what make a good song, in the acoustic/roots genre more than any other. Gram Parsons never explained why his mother's alcoholism had contributed to his own moral and spiritual decline; he told you about her brass buttons and green silks. You got the picture, and you felt the emotion. Mouse need to get out of counselling and into creative writing, urgently. I wouldn't normally be bothered - I'd just write a bad review - but a voice as good as Martha Mouse's, and tunes and arrangements like these, are too valuable to waste on humourless, unpoetic material. If you have a friend who can't speak English, tell her or him to go and hear Mouse, because they sound just great. The rest of you should probably wait until they've got the songwriting thing sorted out. - - - read more rants and raves |