Pearl & The Beard

The Brooklyn-based trio’s first Brighton show introduced us to their folk sound, featuring some unusual instrumentation. The ’60s coffee shop numbers were given gravitas by the dramatic pairing of Emily Hope Price’s sinister cello and Jocelyn Mackenzie’s pounding drums. Their voices were made for each other and on ‘Swimming’ the combination of Jocelyn’s glockenspiel and Emily’s pizzicato plucks had a charming, childlike feel, reminiscent of Bjork’s simpler pastoral arrangements. Jeremy Styles (the Beard) stood on a chair amongst the audience for a falsetto take on Sarah Siskind’s ‘Lovin’s For Fools’ with Jocelyn, followed by Emily adding their voices from either side of the room to create an ethereal surround sound. Their stylistically changing set continued with ‘Long Way Down’, a Belleville harmony gospel shouter that saw Emily cutting a rug with one lucky audience member. The quality of their vocals and musicianship enhanced each song, whether a ’70s Paul Simon style straightforward strummer or a countrified piece with exultant Alison Krauss harmonising. ‘Vessel’, with its haunting “Sailor come to me” refrain, added eerie melodica to the slap-bass style of cello as Jeremy took the lead vocal then Emily, sounding like Jolie Holland, accompanied herself with a fine solo on a smoky jazz number. ‘Let’s Go Dancing’ had an authentic Spanish feel and the set ended vibrantly with ‘Hot Volcano’, a frenzied jazzy polka. This overran their allotted time so unfortunately we were denied an encore, leaving both band and audience slightly bemused as the club night started around us.

Green Door Store, 22 July

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