Paper Aeroplanes and Martyn Joseph are Welsh singer
songwriters, making a natural combination to tour together. Martyn Joseph is
renowned across the globe for his distinctive, skilful guitar playing and
thoughtful songs. Hailing from Milford Haven, Paper Aeroplanes, comprising Sarah
Howells and Richard Llewellyn have just released their third album as duo and
have built a large fan base for music, especially in this area of Wales. Furthermore,
Theatr Mwldan is a natural venue for such a tour, as it is incredibly committed
to the promotion of Welsh music.
The
first half of the gig was a set from Paper Aeroplanes. Sarah Howells has an
incredibly distinctive, haunting voice and Richard Llewellyn added wonderful
harmonies to the duo and is a great guitar player. However, the songs lack
distinct features and, to me, are not wonderfully catchy. Their tunes do not
compel you to listen to the words; instead, they sound pleasant and are
relaxing. In a sense they are quite introverted, like the performers themselves,
as though background knowledge is needed to understand them and the emotion
behind them. However, overall I really
did enjoy the set. Additionally, I enjoyed
the instrumentation. The two guitars worked really well together; however, I
preferred the addition of the mandolin as it introduced a different sound into
the mix.
One of my favourite songs of the
set was ‘My First Love’. This song was probably the most memorable, with a
reasonably catchy tune and sweet lyrics to accompany it. I really like the way
in which Sarah uses the higher register of her voice in this song. Also the
rhythmic guitar accompaniment really fitted the song giving it a more cheerful
atmosphere. Furthermore, I especially enjoyed the haunting quality of the song
‘Circus’. This song matches Sarah’s haunting voice and its slightly creepy tune
was intriguing and compelling.
After
the interval, Martyn Joseph took to the stage with much enthusiasm and energy.
He truly is a master of making his wonderful guitar playing look effortless. He
is certainly a performer as well as a musician. His set was full of energy and
excitement, as well as audience interaction, quite the opposite to the style of
performance from Paper Aeroplanes. Throughout the set Martyn mostly played his
own catchy, upbeat material.
Martyn
has recently released an album of his versions of Bruce Springsteen songs. He
is often referred to as the Welsh Springsteen. Therefore, it is not surprising
that during the set he allowed the audience the opportunity to select two Bruce
Springsteen songs from a list of six for Martyn to sing. The audience chose for
him to sing his version of ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’ which I thought was
incredibly beautiful. The second song he sung ‘No Surrender’ had a very
different feel to it. He accompanied himself on ukulele which was not amplified
and therefore Martyn had to hold it up to the microphone. However, the quietness
of the ukulele was a foil for Martyn’s strong singing voice. Also, although the
ukulele was perhaps an unusual choice for the song, it was really effective and
gave it an incredibly acoustic feel.
The most
affecting song of the set has to be ‘Five Sisters’ which is a true story about casualties
from the conflict in Palestine. The conflict in Palestine is clearly a subject
that Martyn cares about greatly and this comes through in the song, in the
beautiful and poignant melody and the lyrics which tell a sombre story.
One of
my favourite songs of Martyn Joseph’s was ‘I’m on my way’ which has a really
catchy chorus and is very enjoyable to listen to. The audience were encouraged
to join in and definitely did so, which always adds to the enjoyment of a song
for me and shows that the audience were enjoying the gig as much as I was.
One of
the best moments of the set was when Martyn Joseph stepped of the stage and
into the audience. Although his guitar playing was still being amplified, he
managed to sing over it. It was a lovely moment that proved he has a natural
talent for being heard acoustically as well as through an amplifier. Furthermore,
this, and his constant habit of walking about the stage, made it a visual show
as well as something to be listened to. As I said, he is a performer, not just
a musician, and that takes real skill.
The best
part of the gig has to be the encore. For this, Martyn Joseph and Paper Aeroplanes
all took the stage. Paper Aeroplanes sang the song ‘Newport Beach’ which has
local connections to the area so it went down incredibly well. I think it is my
favourite Paper Aeroplane song, as it carries a catchy tune and engaging
lyrics. Furthermore, the instrumentation was really appropriate and exciting,
especially with Martyn Joseph playing guitar and harmonica on top of Paper
Aeroplanes two guitars. There were many lovely harmonies incorporated into this
song as well. After this, the three of them sang Martyn’s song ‘Still a lot of
Love’ which was the perfect way to end such a lovely evening. Again, the
audience joined in on the chorus and it felt as though every single person in
the room was part of the performance in some way.
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