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Artist
Uncle John & Whitelock
12+ albums
about
Sadly this band has now split up. They played their last gig on the 23rd of December 2006 at King Tut's in Glasgow. "THE Absurd Uncle John and Whitelock in Black and White" was how they once titled one of their art-blues happenings, the one in question being conducted at the ICA in London. Appropriately enough, this near sold-out first gig of the year on home turf was a chance for the quintet to get some practice in before a return visit to the capital venue this week as special guests of Mogwai. Yet it also let their audience reacquaint themselves with just how absurd yet wonderful an idea this band really are. The five-piece present themselves as utterly contemporary. Yet to hear them play live is to have your preconceptions knocked, as they conjure up an evocative set of swamp rock that shouldn't conceivably originate on this side of the Atlantic. Using just bass, drums, keyboards and a pair of guitars, the music is a blend of bayou creepiness reminiscent of early Dr John and a sombre David Lynch atmosphere. The band's originators, the titular Uncle John and Whitelock - aka vocalist and guitarist Jacob Lovatt and bassist Raydale Dower - arguably lend most of this atmosphere, with Lovatt in particular offering a grizzled vocal which places him with such rough-diamond heroes as Dr John, Tom Waits and Nick Cave. Elsewhere, Dower's bass and drummer Matthew Black's playing undoubtedly contribute the heart of the band's musical appeal. While the shimmering guitars and keybo
