Gig review: Damon and Naomi

Published on Wednesday 5 May 2010 19:02

DAMON & NAOMI **** MONO, GLASGOW

IN THE month after their classic albums as two-thirds of late Eighties dream pop outfit Galaxie 500 were reissued in the UK by Domino Records, this was as fine a time as any to get reacquainted with Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang's productive career since that band split in 1991. As Krukowski himself remarked, Mono was the perfect venue for their short set: this was music which was best enjoyed seated and utterly relaxed.

Opening with a cover of Big Star's Blue Moon in honour of the recently departed Alex Chilton, the pair set the evening's tone of gentle but precise guitar and light, poppy keyboard. There was no backing band, although support act Robert Youngs did join in on vocals during their second track, New York City. The roar of accidental feedback which accompanied that song's last few bars was easily applauded off, although for a second Krukowski and Yang sounded like their most opposite of contemporaries, My Bloody Valentine.

Otherwise, this show was lullaby soft. Belying their youthful looks, their voices are rich in texture and experience. Yang's in particular possesses a shivering, reedy quality reminiscent of Sandy Denny or Liz Fraser, and this was most noticeable during the folk-tinged Nettles & Ivy and the smoky poetry of A Second Life. There were blasts from the past, too, like their early I'm Yours and Galaxie 500's Blue Thunder, and these were the most romantic moments of a set to warm the heart and ease the soul.