Music / Reviews
Review: Schoolboy Death Trio, Left Bank
Call me old-fashioned but aren’t there only supposed to be three in a trio?
Andrew Neil Hayes (aka Schoolboy) obviously doesn’t let such petty restrictions stop him calling his four-piece band a trio so what do I know.
It was great to catch the foursome playing a late night set at Left Bank, whatever, and the blend of breakbeat drums, exuberant percussion, hard funk bass and catchy sax with heart-felt social commentary raps made for a perfect Friday night soundtrack as the sirens rolled by outside.
is needed now More than ever
Hayes’ choice of targets was wide-ranging – Sex, Drugs and Sugar chided us for our addictions, War lamented the human costs of foreign policy, Just Like You mocked the pointlessness of racism – with echoes of the Last Poets in the rolling percussion and rhythmic vocal delivery plus shades of Sun Ra in the hook-heavy sax parts.
War came dressed in an appropriately Middle Eastern tone, Ethiopiques style, that grew into a fine frenzied jazz workout between sax and percussion.
The rough-hewn sincerity underpinning all of this material made it an engaging listen, a kind of broadside ballad medium for the hip-hop generation.
The day before I’d been watching The Pop Group reprise Mark Stewart’s unflinching take on our culture and now it seemed Schoolboy was an honourable kid brother in the same tradition.
As a jazz fan I could have appreciated Hayes letting go more with his sax – he has the chops to do that, and maybe leaning a bit more towards Albert Ayler, James Chance or even Public Image Limited might have added emotional depth to the music to match the urgency of the lyrics.
But as it was this was great to dance to and for a Friday night on the Stokes Croft strip it was probably just right for the occasion.
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
