Steve Hassett told us that he and fellow Aussie Zoé
Randell met in Edinburgh, both disillusioned with their previous bands, and so
Luluc was birthed in Scotland. He also said what we heard from them vocally
tonight (their wonderful harmonies) had been from the first time they sang
together. And it is that vocal harmony that is probably their greatest strength.
I had seen them when they supported The National (whose Aaron
Dresser had co- produced their album Passerby)
at Usher Hall but you could not get further away from that sold out 2,000+
crowd and that grand venue to tonight’s 25 punters shivering in the cold basement
of The Hug & Pint (Zoé said that the ban’s room was also the coldest she
had ever experienced – hey Hug & Pint what is going on? I have been here
many times before and never has it been so cold).
Despite the cold and the meagre, but
very appreciative audience, their show tonight was far superior to that I saw
at Usher Hall partly because a more intimate setting better suits their style
but mainly because the songs from their latest album Sculptor are very good. Zoé
Randell has always been a good lyricist (perhaps reflecting a melding of the
teenage rebel she told she was, a fierce independence and her poetic openness to
beauty) and the latest batch of songs only serve to re-enforce her quality. Steve
Hassett guitar playing, and synth/beats twiddling, helps to undercut any chance
that the duo will fall into a comfortable singer-songwriter rut – when he lets
rip with his guitar (even if briefly) on a few songs you can hear the prog
background he told us about.
I really liked ‘Kids’ from the new album and the second
biggest cheer from the crowd was probably after ‘Little Suitcase’, Zoé’s
tribute to her father. However, the highlight of the show was their
sublime version of Simon and Garfunkel’s The Boxer, their harmonies were
pin-droppingly gorgeous – and their whistling was not bad either.
