Our very own Bell X1 take to the stage at Vicar St on the 2nd of
December.
Bell X1 + Damien Rice = Juniper, or rather
Juniper – Damien Rice = Bell X1.
Juniper formed in 1991 when Damien Rice, Brian Crosby, Paul Noonan and Dominic Phillips were still in school in Cellbridge, Co. Kildare. They kept the band together while in college, playing weddings, 21st Birthday parties and the like. They soon hooked up with Dave Geraghty, who opens their eyes to a whole new range of music.
In 1999 Damien Rice decided Juniper was not working for him and took off for Tuscany. That seems to have worked out for him; he found his voice and has gone on the great things.
The same can be said of the rest of the boys too though: they carried on without Damien, renaming themselves Bell X1, after the first plane to break the sound barrier. The association with the ideas of breaking barriers and something to do with sound suits them well.
If Juniper were a promising band, as attested by their singles Weatherman and The World Is Dead and their EP Manna, then Damien Rice and Bell X1 are two individual fulfillments of that promise.
Later on in 1999, Bell X1 recorded their first album, Neither Am I, produced with the help of Nick Seymour of Crowded House. It was a downbeat Indie-Rock affair that suggested, as their Juniper work did, a whole lot of potential. The following year after a few single releases and a load of gigs, they released Neither Am I to the public.
After those brilliant gigs, the recording that was released may have seemed a disappointment to those who had grown used to their live sound. The album was endowed with numerous strong moments, but like too many other debuts, those moments fall short of coalescing into a unique and unified whole. But their live performances on the other hand succeed where the recording failed, not hinting at greatness, but showing it off.
After the release of Neither Am I, there was a cooling off period for the band, with the various members heading off to attend to personal projects, playing and recording with a variety of other bands and artists such as Gemma Hayes and Mundy.
They came together again in 2002 to record a second album, Music In Mouth, which was just released on the 18th of July. This new release ups the tempo a little, sounding a little like Radiohead on (more) psychedelics. Again there are many great moments (Check out 'White Water Song' or 'West of her Spine' if you have any doubts), but it is not always clear what they are meant to fit into.
What ever about their recordings, their live performances always pay off. If the inventiveness (or should that be re-inventiveness?) demonstrated on Music In Mouth is anything to go by, the 2nd promises to be an excellent show from this young band.
Time: 8.00 pm
Tickets: €16 available from Road Records and Sound Cellar. €17.50 through Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.ie.
Vicar St
58-59 Thomas St,
Dublin 8.
Tel.: 454 6656
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