Beggars
Words by Damien Gabet
A good vocal line? Not quite. Adolescent grumblings on the gentrification of petrol stations? Warmer. Four late-teened indie-ching-a-linger’s giving a current and insightful view of the UK ‘toilet tour’? Bull’s-eye. After giving reluctant but faithful support to the likes of Babyshambles and The Courteeners, Beggars have done a desperado and hit the road alone.
Reading-based Beggars formed initially as two friends with something in common. Their parents. ‘The old man played piano, but we didn’t copy him, I don’t think anyone does.’ So where do they draw their influences from? The brothers’ mutual adoration for everything Leonard Cohen has ever said or done is a start. ‘From a young age he’s been iconic for us, he’s a great all round person.’
So where did it all start for the Beggars brothers? Strangely enough, their first fans were the unsuspecting gastro-elite of Reading town. ‘We started off in posh restaurants and then decided to step it up a gear.’ How so? ‘We spent a week in a barn in the middle of nowhere and tried to write the best songs in the world.’ The result? ‘Pretty good. We took the songs and randomly played at a Christmas party out in the sticks. Totally on the off-chance a guy from Heavenly Records was watching and took us on there and then.’ Jumping Jehoshaphat! You’ve more chance of finding unicorn shit in a dentist chair!
So what do Beggars do when they’re not making shit-hot indie-rock? ‘We love a good walk in the countryside to be honest.’ Oh dear. Are you thinking middle-aged tweed-wearing pig-owning post-fame country-life Toryism has come too early? Fear not frothy urbanites, this kind of smut fails to go into any of Beggars’ lush, mellifluous melodies.
So, the big question - do Beggars bypass the banality of today’s wanton skinny-jeaned shitegiest? In our book, the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. Paving avant-garde musical pathways is not Beggars’ calling. Instead it is an intimate understanding of how to extract three minutes of vivacious vintage indie-pop from four primitive instruments and a larynx. Now what more could you want?
Posted Thu, December 04, 2008