Dear Dear Reader

Editor rating: Nine

(85 reads) I had been looking forward to this for months. I’d listened to the album online until I knew it backwards. Finally the email arrived in my inbox: Dear Reader album launch at The Assembly, Cape Town. Woohoo!

For those of you that don’t know, Dear Reader is the band formally known as Harris Tweed. They recently had to change their name owing to a legal issue with a clothing company by the same name. But if they have to change their name, I guess now is the best time for it. Their sound has matured, and is much bigger than it was when they were Harris Tweed. The lyrics are far more complex, albeit a little emo, and they have vocal layering and sound effects coming out of the wah-zoo.

There were people scattered all over Assembly’s floor. I heard someone comment that they hoped the floor had been washed since the raucous Nude Girls gig last weekend, a sentiment I echo. I got myself a Jack & lime and commandeered a spot right up front. There are a couple of bands for whom I want to sit as close as possible, to be the first person in the venue to experience it. I open all my senses wide to take it all in. Dear Reader is one of these bands.

They played every song off their new album, Replace Why With Funny, and they messed around with most of them. One the best tracks was “Great White Bear” in which Daryl recorded Cheri doing the backing vocals and then layered them, creating a massive, spine-chilling effect. It was also great to see a band involve the drummer so much in their show. In many bands the drummer just exists in the back, and I think it would probably be easier to just get a drum machine. But Dear Reader’s drummer, Mike, did backing vocals, came up the record his baritone for the vocal layering in one of the tracks, and assisted Daryl by pushing a few buttons. He’s also a really animated guy, cracking jokes and singing along with every lyric to come out of Cheri’s mouth.

Dear Reader gave me everything I wanted and needed from that gig. I left the venue happy and played the CD all the way home in my car.

Photo Credit: Marcus Maschwitz