RGG April 2015 - p.37
Another ‘dare to wear’ was The Inspiral
Carpets’ ‘Cool As Fuck’ shirt with the cow smok
ing a cigarette popular before the band had
graced the chart All of that changed with the
arrival of vocalist Tom Hingley a deal with
Mute Records and a bona fide hit single with
‘This Is How It Feels’ and the accompanying
album ‘Life’
After a few more years of diminishing returns
the Inspirals called it a day with keyboard
player Clint Boon forming the ‘Experience’ and
Tom Hingley going solo The lure of cash saw a
reformation in
only for Hingley to quit
finally in
Now The Inspiral Carpets tour
with original singer Stephen Holt whilst Tom
goes it solo so far releasing five albums This
night saw him play for the first time in
Stourbridge at its newest club ScaryCanary The
Venue
Now I must admit that singer songwriter
acoustic acts are so commonplace that I
genuinely find them difficult to distinguish
however illustrious their previous band
material may have been Also as Tom’s solo
career has passed me by I was expecting this
night to go one way or another – really
impressing me with the quality of his songs or
going over my head completely this wasn’t
strictly true Tom’s voice has matured over the
years and was on very good form indeed We
got the aforementioned ‘This Is How It Feels’
and The Inspiral Carpets’ aptly titled comeback
single ‘Come Back Tomorrow’ along with
another couple of lesser known older tracks
with the bulk of the set concentrating on his
solo endeavours However whilst it was
‘pleasantly professional’ nothing really
grabbed me to think anything other than he
was ‘good’ Sorry about that I can’t really add
anymore
Opening act Timothy Parkes was someone I
saw a few years ago who immediately
impressed me as a cut above other acoustic acts
with his unusual tunings and soaring unique
voice Having also seen him play electric with
various band line ups I can also confirm that
he’s equally at home in both settings After a
Timothy Parkes
few false starts Tim seems back with a
vengeance and a solid band line up easily the
best he’s ever had
From set openers ‘Come Out Tonight’ and
‘Looks Like Rain’ it was obvious that this band
gelled completely Three guitars interplaying
and not intruding underpinned by a rock solid
rhythm section Tim’s voice as always clear and
strong It was mainly a set of ‘old’ favourites
(then again songs are only ‘old’ to those that
have heard them before) including
‘Witchcraft’ ‘Just Come’ & ‘Calm The Lovers’
but two new songs where Tim put down the
guitar and let the band do the ‘talking’ was
something I’d never seen him do before and
showed that this is most certainly a ‘group’
project Even ‘Killer’ one of the oldest tracks
and a very familiar one to my ears sounded
invigorated I’m looking forward to seeing this
line up evolve
So a mixed but enjoyable evening in a unique
and comfortable venue Keep a look out on the
ScaryCanary The Venue Facebook page for
forthcoming events as they are not going
down the tried and tested route
There’s something happening here
Celebrating Years
r
gg
since
1995
