Formed early 2006, the 6-piece band Boathouse have been causing quite a stir recently. Imagine a car-crash between the Pixies, Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire, with a dash of something else, and you'll be some way to realizing the sound that has seen them gain a great live reputation.
With superb songwriting, soaring vocals and the usual Guitar/Bass/Drums, Boathouse have mixed the instrumentation of Trumpet, Accordion, Mandolin, Flute, Glockenspiel into a sound that is truly their own.
In June 2007 they did a three track live acoustic session for the BBC. The first three tracks above are the fruits of this session so enjoy! There is also a live video of one of these tracks, 'Johnny and Ruth Story' in the news section above along with a short profile all put together by the BBC.
There are six members: Keir (Drums), Kieran (Guitars, Vocals), Amy (Vocals, Guitar, Glockenspiel), Micky (Bass), Gerry (Vocals, Accordion, Keys, Guitars, Flute, Glockenspiel), Dave (Trumpet)
If you get a chance subscribe to the blog. It will be regularly updated with new news, lyrics, stories and other interesting information about Boathouse.
"Some day, we may all have a little Boathouse in our soul. The intent is decent, the energy levels are considerable and some of the tunes are blinders. They produce an accordion, a trumpet and a flute. A xylophone is mangled and guitars sing out. The best bits are when the rhythm locks into a four-to-the-floor fever and the music stampedes to an emotional conclusion.
'Johnny And Ruth Story' has the narrative rush of the Hold Steady and the spark of the Arcade Fire. This is naturally a great thing. A couple more songs are also rich with possibilities. There's a latent Roy Orbison dimension, while the dynamic between singers Gerry and Amy is swell. 'What I Remember' is an actual heart breaker."
Gifted @ The Empire Music Hall by Stuart Bailie, BBC Radio Ulster
Visit Stuart, Marty and Co at Oh Yeah!
"It's not often that we make the effort to cram six musicians and their instruments into the snug confines of the ATL Studio, but for Boathouse we were prepared to make an exception.
Armed with a glockenspeil, a bucket, a trumpet, a piano, a bass, two guitars and a range of voices, the band recorded winning versions of their songs 'Johnny and Ruth Story', 'What I Remember' and 'Don't Knock'..."
Boathouse Session for Across The Line on BBC Radio Ulster
Visit the ATL team at BBC Radio Ulster!
..
