From Yorkshire Evening Post

Modern Music Review presents Superpop: Pagan Wanderer Lu, Milo’s, Leeds, July 1, 2009

Pagan Wanderer Lu was playing at Milo as part of a new night called Super Pop.  Their show was musically bold, visually stunning and a lot of fun - although it was sweltering upstairs, and I’ve never been at a gig where half the audience stood the while time in 3D glasses.

As this inventive, DIY, one-man band played tracks from his new album, Fight My Battles For Me the ’video jockey’ projected amazing, moving images which took on a whole new life of their own if you put on the spectacles given out on arrival.  Pagan Wanderer Lu's songs had no fixed point, moving from style to style rapidly, one second sounding like an early 60s girl group, the next a little bit of folktronica before settling for New Order.

Witty, clever and provocative, his songs were full of bleeps from one of those old mini Casio MT-40 keyboards mixed with traditional electric guitar and juicy sampled beats. Playing two short sets, the first was more experimental, the second showed he was capable of writing more conventional songs. Highlights included one called The Bridge of Sighs and a great guitar track called The Memorial Hall which closed the evening. As members of the crowd swayed from side to side, still wearing those red and blue spectacles, Pagan Wanderer Lu took the song beyond its rock roots into rave, the beats booming out for some time in a glorious mash-up.

I haven't seen an 'indie' act who could change from Badly Drawn Boy to  MGMT so quickly and still deliver a decent tune. He's definitely one to look out for and the organisers modernmusicreview.com deserve congratulations for putting on such an unusual and brilliant show. Next time some electric fans though, please.

Nick Carver
 
www.modernmusicreview.com mix picked by Graham Chalmers and James Littlewood.

Tracks ranged from TV On The Radio to The Associates, Animal Collective to the Beach Boys, MGMT to Scritti Politti, The Guillemots to Kate Bush, Patrick Wolf to Prefab Sprout, Wild Beasts to XTC, Empire of the Sun to Rufus Wainwright.

Visuals by Quadrod.

 

© Modern Music Review (2009)