Sunday, October 27, 2024

The Irrepressibles: Tide

The Irrepressibles is the name under which the Scarborough-born musician Jamie McDermott works. The Tide come from his first studio album Mirror Mirror, which was reviewed on its release in 2010 by Nina Joyce:

McDermott’s exuberant performances dance on the border of disturbing, but an ability to melt between the light and the dark with such mesmerising grace has led to comparisons to Anthony Hegarty, though the heights McDermott’s voice can reach sometimes suggest a male Joanna Newsom, minus the folk. The time for the rise of the Irrepressibles is surely upon us. 

The somewhat poperatic tendencies undoubtedly catch your attention but the flamboyancy can sometimes seem more like a child starved of affection. The positive side to this is The Irrepressibles’s contagious spirit and exuberance for sticking a tongue out or a lithe finger up to convention.

This spirit spills over into their live performances, according to the Guardian's review of Mirror Mirror:

After much performing by woods, lakes and even amphitheatres, a flamboyant full debut from the 10-piece orchestral ensemble, who, lavishly dressed in anything from Flash Gordon gear to exotic fruit, pirouette as they play.

The video here, however, comes from Andrei Tarkovsky's first feature film, Ivan's Childhood. It's the famous scene of Captain Kholin and Masha among the birch trees.

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