Loyle Carner Inspires Crowd At Tate Britain Gig (Review)

Surrounded by old iconic artwork including ‘The Lady of Shalott’ by John William Waterhouse, UK Hip Hop artist Loyle Carner swaggered on stage alongside his co-producer Rebel Kleff to perform tracks from his EP “A Little Late” at Tate Britain's BP Loud event last Saturday.

Jokingly mentioning he was going to try and censor the lines “Of course I’m fucking sad, I miss my fucking Dad”, he opened with the first track off the EP, ‘BFG’. These lines were all it took for the audience to be opened up to the raw and heartfelt emotion that he gives through his music, after his Dad sadly passed away earlier this year.

With these real life problems involving love and loss being the key incentives behind the EP, it made the performance emotionally engaging and creatively inspiring. Showcasing these clever phrases, smooth guitar riffs and bop-along beats made it a crowd pleaser, interacting with the audience as he did so.

Clearly having a strong bond between him and his family, Carner showed this to be the driving force behind his song writing, giving thanks to his Mum in particular through out the set. There was no trace of the "bad boy" facade that often used to be associated with rappers, only the love for combining music and poetry.

Loyle Carner doing his thing on stage with iconic
paintings as a backdrop 

Unfortunately, there were a few technical problems during the performance but he carried on regardless, doing a few tracks and pieces of spoken word without a mic. He also gave a promo of the song "Baby Grey", which he had been asked to write in response to one of the Turner prize pieces.

My favourite tracks from the EP are 'October ft Kiko Bun' (I also recommend a watch of the animated music video for it) and the ode to his father, 'Cantona'.

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Temples - Move With The Season Single Review

On the 3rd of November, Temples released their single 'Move With The Season' from their debut album 'Sun Structures'. I must admit that I didn't know much about the album but after listening to this track, my first impressions have been that Temples are a '90s moody rock' driven band. However, Temples only formed back in 2012 by singer-guitarist James Bagshaw and bassist Thomas Walmsley, making their sound fashionably outdated. Even the artwork of their album has that sepia toned retro look, it reminds me of the iconic cover artwork for Pink Floyd's 'Animals'. It's clear that Temples have been influenced heavily by 60s/70s rock, especially the psychedelic phase. Bagshaw's hairstyle resembles that of an early Robert Plant and with use of instruments such as the sitar, the Beatles' 'Magical Mystery Tour' stage is also an obvious aspiration.

I found this particular track to provide the same ambience as bands like Oasis, The Verve and the Stone Roses. With the distant, harmonised vocals and heavy drum beats, its experimental as you get lost with the layering of sounds. Although a predominantly indie rock track, I liked the mix of different genres with James Bagshaw's distinct voice and the reverberative guitar riffs. With it's unconventional song structure and random sound effects, it is perfect listening for a temperamental teenager. Although it's refreshing to find a band that are using elements of older music to create a new sound in the present day, I didn't find anything particularly new or original about their sound. It's the type of band you would see and tap your feet to at a festival when you are waiting around for your favourite artist, and then forget the song 15 minutes later. Despite the fact  they're undoubtedly talented musicians and good song writers, I just didn't find it to be anything to go wild over.

Hannah Jolley

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