Lake Komo are one of the hottest indie-folk outfits to hit the mainstream scene recently, receiving radio play from Radio One on their latest single ‘Milkwaukee’.
The Manchester four-piece features Pete Bentley on bass, Liam Maxwell on drums, Jess Gould on keyboard and frontman Jay Nudd on vocals and guitar. We caught them live at Sneaky Pete’s in Edinburgh to hear the back catalogue and they showed a lot of potential through their setlist.
Nudd’s vocals are comfortably strong enough to lead the group’s indie-rock numbers, though the frontman does make regular use of a vocoder and regularly, possibly too regularly, moves into falsetto. He’s best though when sticking to his rough rock range though – the higher pitch feels forced at times and disrupts the flow of certain songs.
Gould is strong on keyboard and backing vocals and gives the group a unique talking point with original synth work. Bentley and Maxwell are both slick and play with precision as well. The bulk of the set sounds inspired by the likes of Thom Yorke and Ben Howard, though there are some notable exceptions.
The Manchester four-piece features Pete Bentley on bass, Liam Maxwell on drums, Jess Gould on keyboard and frontman Jay Nudd on vocals and guitar. We caught them live at Sneaky Pete’s in Edinburgh to hear the back catalogue and they showed a lot of potential through their setlist.
Nudd’s vocals are comfortably strong enough to lead the group’s indie-rock numbers, though the frontman does make regular use of a vocoder and regularly, possibly too regularly, moves into falsetto. He’s best though when sticking to his rough rock range though – the higher pitch feels forced at times and disrupts the flow of certain songs.
Gould is strong on keyboard and backing vocals and gives the group a unique talking point with original synth work. Bentley and Maxwell are both slick and play with precision as well. The bulk of the set sounds inspired by the likes of Thom Yorke and Ben Howard, though there are some notable exceptions.
One of the more diverse moments in the set came when the group retired the drums and bassist for a song or two and went full-on Bon Ivor; diverting drastically from their usual style to channel Justin Vernon’s indie-folk auto-tune style. The songs were actually really solid but they did feel slightly out of place among the rest of the setlist.
Lake Komo closed with ‘Milwaukee’, a breakup tune which has been receiving primetime radio play. The guitar work is catchy, the vocals flowing over a catchy looping rhythm and building to an anthemic chorus; it slots right into the mainstream hit category.
The group are enjoying a small venue UK tour at the moment, and Sneaky’s is a great venue for the gig – a small but eclectic cave that’s quintessential Edinburgh – but it’s not hard to imagine any one of their songs going big on the charts with a bit of radio backing and a sprinkle of luck.
Round the edges off the setlist and cement their style and sound and they could be back in Edinburgh in the near future playing a bigger venue, in front of an audience singing back the words.
2.5/5
Stuart Kenny
Lake Komo closed with ‘Milwaukee’, a breakup tune which has been receiving primetime radio play. The guitar work is catchy, the vocals flowing over a catchy looping rhythm and building to an anthemic chorus; it slots right into the mainstream hit category.
The group are enjoying a small venue UK tour at the moment, and Sneaky’s is a great venue for the gig – a small but eclectic cave that’s quintessential Edinburgh – but it’s not hard to imagine any one of their songs going big on the charts with a bit of radio backing and a sprinkle of luck.
Round the edges off the setlist and cement their style and sound and they could be back in Edinburgh in the near future playing a bigger venue, in front of an audience singing back the words.
2.5/5
Stuart Kenny
RSS Feed
