Live Review: Conil/London/8.5

If you listen to Conil‘s record, Strange Part of the Country, you’ll hear a four piece band with big sound and a voice that breaks with honesty. The album has been getting buzz since it came out with comparisons across the board from singer-songwriters to 90′s grunge. When I saw Conil perform at the Monarch in Camden, he didn’t have his usual band with him, just a sampler. In theory, the Monarch is your ideal indie hangout pub and a great place for live music. The huge bar and large expanse of dance floor is great, and there’s plenty of Dickensian furniture for meeting up in the perennially hot neighborhood in North London. Monarch is great for big band sounds that get people on the floor, but that’s not Conil.

Before the set, I had a lengthy chat with the “anti-James Blunt” on the back porch over beers and coffee, and was surprised by how genuine he seemed and also, how complex. As we got closer to his set, he seemed to go a bit nervous, but with a quiet confidence as if to convince himself he could do this. This humility is something so rare in musicians, and even rarer to come across on stage.

With an audience mostly made up of 18-21 year olds (who are more interested in boozing up and hooking up than listening to the people on stage), getting them to pay attention to you is daunting and near impossible. Lucky for Conil, he’s got this voice. A smokey, late-night, whiskey voice that can whisper truths and scream obscenities with more sincerity than anyone who hangs out in Camden has heard for years.

While I watched him perform his eight song set, he cultivated a small following among those who would listen, which is all he wants anyway. Starting out slow and building to three-song string of his strongest tracks on SPOTC, “Distances From Here”, “Stoned”, and “Years Between”, it seemed that he had the crowd’s attention. Before the show, Conil assured me he brought along the sampler because he wanted to perform “A quieter set, not like the record”, but it soon became obvious he was finished being quiet and wanted you to remember him.

Honest without being crude, and emotional without being whiny, Conil is much more than he presents on Strange Part Of The Country. He doesn’t need auto-tune, he doesn’t need all the hipsters in Camden to care, hell, he doesn’t even need a band behind him. Conil just needs your ears, and everything else will follow suit.

Taken from Eburban.com

London based singer-songwriter Conil’s new single ‘Devil Leaving’, the opening track of his critically acclaimed album ‘Strange Part of the Country’, is a potent fusion of rock and urban statement. Backed by legendary double bass player Danny Thompson (John Martyn, Tim Buckley) and Peter Gabriel’s band, Conil combines his rousing vocal with a rough edged guitar riff. Produced by Tchad Blake (Tom Waits, Black Keys) the song swells from slow flowing verse to the soaring verve of the chorus, carrying the listener within its meanderings. In a time of frequent over-production, in which a distinct rock voice can be refined out of existence, Conil’s unique voice retains true grit and gravel, yet handles melodies with ease, carrying distinct mellow echoes of Cobain. When Conil’s voice is coupled with his strong writing ability, he emerges as an artist who deserves attention, distinguishing himself with quality songs. Through the lyrics themselves, which render experiences reaped from London night wanderings, but also through the emotive power which his vocal infuses within the words, giving ‘Devil Leaving’ a charge which lingers after the track fades.

Taken from Shout4Music.com

Like a character from a comic book city, London based singer-songwriter Conil wandered the dark and seedy streets at night to narrate his first release Strange Part Of The Country. As a master poet he was able to direct his listeners down oddly lined roads to the moments that he captured on his outings. With the help of talented associates, Conil shaped his curious mix of instruments into sexy and well-defined story boards.

The starting point of Strange Part Of The Country is Devil Leaving, a mixture of swaying music and peculiar images that craft a dreamlike condition beckoning into the night. A few feet away is American Grapevine, a song that forces contemplation with lines like “If you really wanna leave, where do you go … we’re all in the world no matter where you’re form” – proving its persistence with a tune that plays over and over, even after its passes by. The next turn slows it down with Years between. This is an amazingly sweet melody presented with incredibly beautiful poetry.

Stoned ensures that there is no opportunity to linger as the tone picks up again. While the body kicks in with toe tapping, there is also the feeling of being stuck in the same place – teasing with too many contradictions and influencing towards escape. The title track, Strange Part Of The Country, points forward with a great sound and cleverly disguised commentary on the world we live in. While still trying to figure out what has just been experienced, Distances From Here slowly floats by. This short and haunting ballad quietly morphs into Bonediggers which truly showcases the abilities of this expert puppeteer as Conil ingeniously reminds that if patterns and behaviors don’t change, then “most of what matters happens in our sleep.”

Wandering into the next section of town brings the unexpected sound of Round Midnight but only until the next corner is turned and Dog Meat Stew chases you down a bohemian alleyway. Just when it feels that things are lost, Time Settles calls out to lead the way back to the main road, using words and music to convey how it feels to have the walls close in. Trapped and stroked in the velvetiness of his voice, even the desolation of the History of the Best and Worst of Us doesn’t matter.

Never fear though. As all good storyteller heroes do, Conil bravely leads the way back with After The Hole. This stunning symphony uses many seamless elements to create the perfect Crow-like ending – the feeling of completing a deep and unexpected journey. And even though the journey is over and the adventure was more than what was expected, life has been altered and there is no going back.

Strange Part Of The Country should be a book as well as an album. Conil’s lyrics are more than words, they are deep and thought provoking poems and on their own are artistically presented. This combined with his multi-instrumental abilities and unique-sexy-soothing voice is like watching a movie with your ears. Strange Part Of The Country brilliantly portrays the artist’s profoundly insightful observations and this experience should not be missed.

Devil Leaving (3:34)
American Grapevine (3:51)
Years Between (4:09)
Stoned (3:28)
Strange Part Of The Country (3:09)
Distances From Here (3:24)
Bonediggers (3:04)
Round Midnight (4:25)
Dog Meat Stew (3:39)
Time Settles (3:22)
History Of The Best And Worst Of Us (3:08)
After The Hole (6:03)

From The Indie Music Report: http://www.theindiemusicreport.com/2010/07/strange-part-of-the-country-conil/

NEW SINGLE – ‘Devil Leaving’ by Conil

You may remember the review I wrote some time ago for a
singer-songwriter by the name of Conil. My review was for
his debut album ‘Strange Part Of The Country’ which you
can read here.

London based Conil has been
dubbed the Anti James Blunt and you can see why with the dark and smokey
tones to his music. ‘Devil Leaving’ is no exception,
with it’s harsh but emotional attack as Conil leaves no stone unturned. It’s
dirty rock music in the shape of Tom Waits but with a hint of the urban
poet laureate. Produced by the multi Grammy award winning, Tchad Blake, who was responsible for
some Tom Waits albums and Black Keys releases. Blake lends his
production hand to the other worldly beats that the track has
to offer. When layered with Conil’s
husky and strong vocals, you get something rather special and quite
visceral at the same time.

Check out the single here…..

The single I am told will be out soon. Conil is also performing various UK
festivals and shows over the next few months, which will include a
performance at the famous ‘Lake Of Stars’ Festival in Malawi!

Voting is still open to select the top 8 acts to play a slot at the Camden Crawl so click the banner below and get voting!

“London singer-songwriter Conil has been winning over new hearts across the land with his album ‘Strange Part Of The Country’. He’s got one of those great voices that grabs your attention and keeps you listening. Legendry double bass player Danny Thompson (Tim Buckley / John Martyn) plays on his record, which was also mixed by Tchad Blake (Tom Waits), and you can here the quality here in ‘Stoned’. Conil embarks on a UK Street Session Tour during March.”

About Young Rebel:

Young Rebel is a non-genre-specific new music webzine. We promote new independant music from around the world. We work with artists who feel passionately about the music they make, and who are driven first and foremost by the desire to make great records. Our aim is to invest in and nurture the development of the artists we work with, creating an inroad to the industry for artists we feel deserve the opportunity and exposure.

The single out 29 March on Great Hare Records is the first of 3 singles taken from the album.

Listen at www.nme.com/radio