PREVIEWS
Image by Martin Livesey
MUSIC
VIRGINIA WING @ THE CLUNY
Words: Mark Corcoran-Lettice Trying to stake out new ground within a set musical form can be a Sisyphean task: just what is left to explore in a standard band format at this stage of the game? Full credit then to Virginia Wing, who having started life as a more psychedelia-informed, Broadcast-
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indebted act have evolved into a genuine one-of-a-kind proposition. Having made a considerable artistic step forward on 2018’s dazzling Ecstatic Arrow, earlier this year they returned with the similarly brilliant private LIFE: an album more interior than its predecessor, but no less captivating or powerful for it. Now a trio of Alice Merida Richards, Sam Pillay and Christopher Duffin, they delight in collage-like songs that draft in ideas from a disparate array of influences – a snip of pop-house here, a dash of 80s indie there, washed down with a grateful glug of spiritual jazz – that never sound like they
belong anywhere but alongside each other. As anyone who saw their previous Cluny appearances can attest, their live show boasts a more muscular electro pulse, driven forward by Richards’ insistent sprechgesang. Making a very welcome return to the venue on Thursday 30th September as part of a belated UK tour for private LIFE, Virginia Wing’s considered balance of incision and euphoria makes for a genuine delight. Virginia Wing play The Cluny, Newcastle on Thursday 30th September www.virginiawingmusic.bandcamp.com
