Review by Al

The latest Songs from the Front Room session saw “purveyors of fine Anglo-Americana” Matt Ord and Niles Krieger, ‘The Two’, come down from sunny Newcastle to play some amazing traditional folk and old time music from the UK and the US. We had another packed house for this month’s musical extravaganza, with many regulars and a few new faces to welcome to our evening of excellent music right from our lounge.

Matt coaxes the finest sounds available to humanity from his guitar, accompanied on the fiddle and mandolin by the very talented Niles. Matt and Niles are two of the most intelligent and engaging people you are ever likely to meet, and they certainly know their music. Not since I saw the Carolina Chocolate Drops have I been so educated as I was entertained, as they explained where their songs came from and who they learned them from. At one point Matt explained the finer points of tuning his guitar to emulate a mountain dulcimer just to cover his search for a plectrum.

The Two are definitely keeping the folk tradition alive in a way that makes it just about impossible to stop your feet from tapping. Switching from Scottish to Texan tunes, but always with a story, it was clear that The Two have a passion for music, and a sense of humour with it. Who knew that atheists could be such proud ambassadors for gospel, getting the room singing along to a rousing rendition of Can’t You Hear Jerusalem Mourn. And, in a demonstration of their musical range, their version of Radiohead’s Paranoid Android was sublime

There is a real communication between the two as they play, and they had their cynical Surrey audience as putty in their hands in no time at all. The mood was positive as everyone enjoyed the unfailingly fantastic song and sound. These lads are always welcome in my house, and you’d do well to check them out too.