MILDRED (US

With support from Myer U Clark Mildred is a band from Oakland, CA of four equal parts. They don’t have a lead singer, no one person writes the songs. The songs that make up Fenceline come together as a group with their genesis sprouting from any one of their members - Henry Easton Koehler (vocals, guitar), Jack Schrott (vocals, guitar), Matt Palmquist (vocals, bass, woodwinds) or Will Fortna (drums, production) - each time. The songs are often wrestled from the lead writer by the other three, a lyric might have been mumbled absentmindedly for a few days before one of the other three grabs at it. If you ask any Mildred member what their favourite part of Fenceline is, it will never be something they wrote. If you pin them down and ask them what their favourite part of something they did write was, it will always be something somebody else added to it. “I feel at home when I hear disorientation in a song. It feels natural. Even a bit moving,” says Myer U Clark. It’ll come as no surprise to those who’ve had the joy of hearing the Bristol singer-songwriter’s new album Tinderbox. It’s a record of elegant and sophisticated off-kilter folk pop that constantly undercuts itself, nimble guitar leading the listener down melodic paths that appear inviting, but soon start winding their way in curious unexpected directions as it takes them deeper, buffeted by banjo, viola, cabasas, oboe, double bass and harmonium. It’s the kind of strange music Clark’s loved since encountering John Williams’ E.T. soundtrack as a child. “The chords are crazy,” he says. “I was obsessed with the big changes you never would have expected. I think I’m trying to do that too.” Show starts at 7:30pm. Age: 16+ (under 18s to be accompanied by a responsible adult)