Never Enough Notes e-zine // reviews + interviews + music

It’s a brisk Tuesday night and I have plonked myself at The Social, just of London’s Oxford Street to take in the launch of Monument Valley’s release The Tongues with a gig by Monument and their support act Peter and Kerry.
I settled down to watch Peter and Kerry, which sounds awfully casual doesn’t it, as if I’m talking about staring at two mates? Rather I’m referring to the charming duo who unassumingly took to the stage. There was something very earnest about the twosome, and they carried them selves with an uncertain awareness that people were watching them whilst constantly communicating with other.
At the points in their songs were their emotions or vocals became greater and more evident their positioning on stage and eye contact with the audience lessoned, which for some acts would be a mistake, but Peter and Kerry pulled it off, and if anything it gave credence to the emotions conveyed in their songs. Almost like they were embarrassed of showing off their skills.
At one stage they swapped places on stage as to swap instruments. ‘Show offs’ I thought, yet they did not seem to swap wine glasses, rather chugged away on the glasses closest to them; my kind of people.
Their vocals were sweet, enticing and beautifully harmonised.
I’m really not a fan of boy/girl duos as a rule, generally as they tend to be sycophantically loved up couples like Sonny and Cher or sickly sibling acts that carry an underlined threat of incestuous feelings towards one of other. But I did not get this feeling with these guys; rather I could see them in a pub or out shopping-helping each other pick out attractive knitwear. Ultimately, very much worth a listen and I would say that their sound would not do too badly on a sound track to a quirky indie Juno-style film.

A short time later and the headline act subtly take to the stage, to a far more respectfully quite crowd than the night’s previous acts. It was almost eerie the sudden hush that befell the crowd when Ned Younger the soul of the musical world that is Monument Valley, indicated he was ready to play, evidence to having an already dedicated following.
It didn’t take long for me to see why he captivated the crowd however, his simple and direct style of singing, at first accompanied by only his own guitar playing (first electric, then acoustic) really did draw you in. Much like acts such as Ed Sheering or Adele, I could imagine Ned being able to hold down a stadium of people with nothing but a guitar and spotlight. His narrative style of songs has a soothing effect and carry of lot of feeling. He also seemed at ease with being in front of an audience, stopping to ask how they were and dropping in the odd mention of thanks and smattering of jokes. Again, nothing OTT but just enough to warm those in attendance.
A selection of songs he performed were inspired by and tell the silent stories behind a set of found photographs that a friend of his, Mikey, had illustrated, these same said illustrations were displayed around the venue. For a few songs he was joined on stage by two friends who played the drums and cello respectively. I positively loved the tune accompanied by the cello, they just add a sense of class and depth to music don’t they?!
What impressed me the most I think, is how, when left on stage by himself, Ned managed to produce a full and rich sound, using only his voice and guitar strums. His demeanour matched his tunes, respectful, thoughtful and real. His first release, the Tongues EP is due November 28, the EP will be accompanied by a book comprised of lyrics to several of Younger’s songs, alongside the original photographs which inspired them and accompanying illustrations by Mikey Smith.