The Broken Family Band - alt.country original songs - February 2004 - review

This band with its 'alt.country' tag have considerable local support. Having now hit the national airwaves in a big way, and getting regular airplay on Radio Two, their next gig after the Cambridge Folk Club was in Texas, USA.

There was an ecstatic crowd reaction to their catchy, quizzical and cryptic songs and their singalong contributions, such as 'You can send me flowers'.

The Band's own approach to their playing is never too complicated for the chosen material. With a bit of slide here, a bit of fast country picking there, they retained that essential element of pastiche, which, to a degree, they trade on.

Some might argue that their songs are so original, and the playing style so authentically their own, that there is enough variation to give it an edge to stay on the margins. Others might firmly place their music in the Americana country style which has been emerging from the modern acoustic scene over the past few years.

Whatever your view, the lively banter, between band and audience underlies the fact that this line-up is thoroughly confident in its live performance. They make clever use of dynamics, sometimes winding the pace down almost to a standstill and the vocals to a whispher, then cranking it up to a rip-roaring crescendo. Only a supremely assured band has the stagecraft in the space of one song to reduce an exuberant crowd to virtual silence, then leave them delirious at the end.

The Band commented later on how pleasant it was that the audience listened so attentively to their songs. They take time and trouble over their lyrics and enjoy when they are appreciated fully.

This band is on the up and up - very much worth a trip to London, or even Texas, if that's where their next gig is!

In support that evening was Joe Bogggs, a man whose personality, heart and performance are large in equal measure. His serious yet humorous songs created a warm atmosphere and were were well-appreciated by a large audience in anticipation of the Borken Family Band.