Narration
Dublin Castle, London
26 March 2008

The Dublin Castle is packed out with revellers looking to dance away into the early hours of Wednesday morning. It might be a school night, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping anyone. And why should it? Life’s too short and, sometimes, the music is too good. Narration are an elegantly dark quartet from Strawberry Hill, London, but their music in no way matches the cheerful and optimistic name of their home. Instead, they’re a band that focus on the silent gaps of life, rainy nights curled up inside by yourself, the lost ambitions and dreams of individuals and nations, the fleeting glances of love.

They do all this with passion and conviction, evincing their emotions dramatically and moodily. The lament of Message To The King in particular is staggering and breathtaking, the soundtrack to a summer storm, but throughout their whole set the band burn with a fragile, ominous intensity. Yet they manage to rock too, loud and shuddering, smiling as the crowd sing along. They’re not the main band tonight, but their sway is more than impressive as their stark atmospherics and energy fill the small, dimly lit room like cigarette smoke, sticking with you long after you’ve got home.

Mischa Pearlman