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Brit pop act Aqualung shines in L.A
09/23/2005 2:16 AM, Reuters
Darryl Morden
Taking a lyric detour
during his hit "Brighter Than Sunshine" toward the end of his
Wednesday show at the Henry Fonda Theater, Aqualung sang, "Los
Angeles is a very strange place . . . but I've come to like
you." Judging by the whooping response, it was obvious the L.A.
audience has come to like him as well. A lot.
Aqualung is the performing sobriquet of English
singer-songwriter Matt Hales, a name he shares with the
four-man band he leads. (He claims to never have heard the
classic rock radio staple by Jethro Tull.) His often lush and
evocative pop styling has been compared to Coldplay, and what
might be lacking in grit is made up for with consummate craft
and precisely arranged numbers with unpredictable melodies.
Hales came off a bit like a U.K. Ben Folds without the
happy-go-lucky banter, though his self-effacing humor certainly
was part of his charm. When he played guitar on a few songs, he
quipped about standing up. He did spend most of the evening at
stage left, seated behind a black piano topped with four small
candles, perhaps a subtle reflection of the romantic melancholy
that colors his work.
Most of the songs were drawn from Aqualung's stateside
Columbia Records debut, "Strange and Beautiful," a compilation
of two British releases. While hardly rocking stuff, the
quartet's arrangements were nonetheless richly dynamic and even
included eclectic touches such as a circular glockenspiel that
was tapped and also played with a bow.
Hales' supple tenor rose to a swooping falsetto during the
smoky blues-meets-Pink Floyd atmosphere of "Falling Out of
Love" and carried the wounded honesty of "Breaking My Heart."
The baroque lullaby "Easier to Lie" was capped by four-part
harmonies; the almost-orchestrated pop composition found
kinship with larger outfits such as Brian Wilson and his band
and the Polyphonic Spree.
For the set-closing "Brighter Than Sunshine," guest
appearances from the night's openers, Tracy Bonham (on violin)
and the Perisher's Ola Kluft (on acoustic guitar), added extra
punch to the winning midtempo pledge of love.
An inspired encore included the near-epic
tension-and-release ballad "If I Fall," and a playful take on
Queen's gospel-pop tune "Somebody to Love," with the Aqualung
band camping it up with the call-and-response vocals, having
some of the most fun of the night.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
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