gig

Beth Jeans Houghton and the Hooves of Destiny

It's a bit of a mouthful, isn't it? Mind you, if my middle name was a pair of trousers I might pick a title for my backing band that drew at least some attention away. And anyway it suits BJH (as I'm now going to call the band, sorry THOD), an artist who firmly subscribes to the "If less is more then think how much more MORE would be" philosophy. It's not just the kaleidoscopic stage outfits and operatic range of her voice; it's more that every time she comes up with the kind of hook-laden, minor-key folkery that has John Lewis ad execs reaching for their chequebooks, she immediately derails it with a thousand other ideas. Songs that start winsome and heartfelt take strange side-roads into psychedelica or blissed-out pop, veer off into Kate Bush territory, and then wander back to conformity in time for the track to end. Charming, complex and real; this is fabulous stuff. / Rob Valid