Doghouse Roses - Bodega Social, Nottingham – 11th September 2009
Scottish duo Doghouse Roses exist in that hinterland where folk, blues and Americana meet, equally at home with “Blackwaterside” as “Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor.” At the Bodega Social their boundary ignoring music is demonstrated to the full as they both support and play in the dark intensity that is Willard Grant Conspiracy. The latter allows Paul Tasker to release his inner electric guitar god, as he coaxes by turns plaintive and wailing sounds from his instrument, but good though this is his work with the Roses is better.
In their half hour set, he and Iona Macdonald, she of the effortlessly pure and emotionally charged voice, do primarily their own songs, of which the timeless ache of “Gone There” and “The Thunder Of The Dawn”, a classic in the making and a subtle piece that belies its title, are the highlights. The aforementioned “...Pallet...” also gets an outing and Macdonald’s casual intensity burns into the soul of the song, while Tasker’s classic picking guitar works in and around the melody with effortless ease.
A Friday night support slot is never a easy gig but Doghouse Roses are a class act and class, as they say, tells. They come away with a well-deserved and convincing win, and will certainly play to more attentive, and larger, audiences if there’s any justice in the world.
jeremy Searle, Americana UK
