Dea Matrona are essentially a duo with some added musicians to complete the band. At first they explore a Stevie Nick meets Pat Benatar style of soft rock firmly rooted in the 70s and underpinned by occasional glimpses of a country twang or two. As the set progresses though its becomes apparent that they are consummate musicians and that they vary their sound song to song.
The two vocalists Orláith Forsythe and Mollie McGinn share the singing duties as well as hit some lovely close harmony work, they notably swap instruments regularly each taking turns on bass and guitar. They also have a knack for not taking the obvious and easy melodic route but for hitting us with a more creative tune which elevates their songs out of the ordinary. A truly confident band on stage with the songs to back it up.
The Beaches introduce themselves with a vignette featuring a telephone ringing and a brief conversation, a motif that repeats through their set. Then the lights are fully on and they really do bounce and whirl onto the stage and then continue a frantic and almost chaotic blur of movement throughout the whole set.
Their style, though not heavy, sits in the rock or indie rock world, the heavy heavy drumming does push it into a more post punk sound with a sharp powerful snare sound that any Motown band would be jealous of. They can all sing and all play, with main vocalist Jordan Miller capable of soft wounds and truly growling noise. There’s a lot of warmth emanating from the band, they have that familiarity of friends who’ve been doing this a long time now (since 2009) and still enjoy each others company. A band who may not have figured on my musical radar much before seeing them live but certainly do now.
WORDS RICHIE YATES PHOTOS NEIL WINWARD
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FOLLOW DEA MATRONA ON FACEBOOK / WEB / INSTAGRAM
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