Lorna offer something a little different. Their music offers a little bit of calm amidst the turmoil of contemporary 'pop' music. Lorna is a transient eclectic of fine multi-instrumentalist (based in Nottingham) playing refreshingly interesting soft experimental indie with hints of just about every other musical genre. Tonight, playing support to the excellent Silverman, six piece Lorna appeared as an electro/acoustic ensemble with an interesting line up of violin (or was it viola? Mmmm, the latter me thinks!), trumpet, acoustic guitars, keyboards and vocals.
For some time main man Mark Rolfe had been sharing his time between this, his own project, and playing wildly exciting and original guitar for Cheltenham based band Silverman and something had to give. Mark chose to dedicate his time and effort to developing the complex family that is Lorna. And, why not?? Judging from tonight's performance the potential of this collective is surely massive. To visit the Lorna experience is a breath of fresh air amidst their normal and often trite (low-fi?) contemporaries. They are shameless with what they do - they just totally shake and wake with their gentle and melodic brand of enchanting musical stories.
The rest of the band, Helen Maltby, Hilmar Hauer, Sharon Cohen, Peter Morley and James Allen joined mastermind and genius Mark and contrived to put on an excellent and laid back set of their work that captivated their audience and hopefully won them many new friends. There is just nothing to dislike about Lorna's work- even if The Beach Boys are your choice for easy listening, believe me, there's something here for you! Sure, they can turn up the volume when required - but it's always when required and not just for the sake of it!
The clever mixture and subtle use of instruments resulted in a fine tapestry of sound woven with both colour and texture. It was almost a tactile experience with the various instruments and voices weaving in and out of the subtle keyboard work. Outstanding musicianship coupled with stunning three and sometimes four part harmonies and top quality songs had the audience captivated from the start.
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