Clash Live Sunday Sessions - November 2008

A word to those who’ll attempt to tackle a Camden crowd with just an acoustic: stand up proud, boy, or else be drowned in chatter.

Adam Ficek, performing under the Roses Kings Castles moniker, comes undone through not fully embracing this necessity; his sweetly strummed songs are pleasant diversions from the Sunday gloom, but in a bar packed with walk-up attendees – Clash Live events at the Lock Tavern are always free-entry – his frail vocals are buried beneath the rattling banter that accompanies any afternoon’s gentle boozing.

Being a sometime member of Babyshambles, Ficek isn’t without his fans, who force themselves to the front to see the seated-throughout singer in action; but with these admirers unable to quell an ever-present cacophony of barely interested punters, efforts from his self-titled album of earlier this year struggle to register with anyone not already familiar with them. A shame.

Ficek would have been wise to follow opener Sam Isaac’s lead. The fresh-faced and all-smiles singer-songwriter has travelled here, with band, from Hull, where the night before he played an NME Club night, and though he’s tired he stands straight and belts out a captivating voice that cuts through the background noise.

With accompaniment from both keyboard and cello, his hook-laden songs smack of mid-period emo – your One Line Drawing take on the now-maligned genre – which give them a slightly retro edge, albeit not one that dominates the arrangements, which soar when Isaac commands. There’s promise aplenty in his songs, and we’ll be watching him closely in 2009.

Headliners Department Of Eagles are literally straight off the plane from the States, here to support their 4AD-issued album ‘In Ear Park’, a great collection of lo-fi indie-folk anthems. While they, like Isaac earlier in the day, display obvious signs of fatigue, they take the stage with enthusiasm across their faces.

Sadly this spark fades almost instantly, as Daniel Rossen – also of Grizzly Bear – snaps a string. The duo struggle through two further numbers but with no replacement strings available they ultimately give up, disappointing some crowd members who’d reportedly travelled down from Cambridge. It’s a let down for many, but with further shows lined up there will be opportunities to catch the band again in the very near future.

And should you catch Ficek before long, do tell the man to get off his stool.