As soon as they stepped on stage, you could see the obvious gothic inclinations of Little Buddha. They say you should not judge a book by its cover, yet it is hard not to when they are all wearing black garments, dark makeup and tight leather trousers. I was proved to be right. As soon as the first song begun, the dark, moody and atmospheric tone was set - and inevitably continued throughout the performance.
There was a certain mystical aura surrounding the group, which was appropriately summed up by the lead singer, and her mesmerising voice. Her voice was akin to Beth Gibbons’, of Portishead, and the band on the whole had a similar murky ambience.
In general, the passion for the music being played was palpable, summed up most markedly by the lead singer, and the clear passion in her dark eyes. There was even an element of ‘rock chick’ in her style and the way she carried herself – constantly moving and driving the other band members on, and even collapsing to the floor during the encore, in a melodramatic slump.
One thing that particularly struck me about the music was the irony of the lyrics. Track titles such as ‘Beautiful’ and ‘Happiest With You’, seemed to be contradictory to the gloomy atmosphere created in each song. Such songs would be appropriate in a sad love scene from a dramatic movie.
They did however, have a couple of other sides to their music. For instance, in the third song – ‘Losing You’ – there was an evident jazzy feel to the melody, which created a more uplifting vibe to the song. Yet throughout there was still the same dark undertones concurrent in other songs. Midway through the song, there was an excellent guitar riff which really grabbed your attention and made you take notice. Even though I wasn’t personally a massive fan of the style and persona of the group and their music, I could still appreciate the quality of the compositions produced.
Throughout the gig, the same musical theme continued, and left me feeling like I should be watching some teenage angst drama series with theatrical, emotional scenes. There was, on the other hand, a couple of refreshing songs which were real feet-tappers. ‘Crossover’ and ‘Traditional Man’, both containing more upbeat tempos, spring to mind. They were the type of songs which make you want to get up and dance to the rhythm.
All in all I’ll have to admit, ‘Little Buddha’ may not exactly be my cup of tea, nevertheless they did manage to grab my attention with the quality and eminence of their music, and the resounding passion, shown particularly by the lead singer was admirable. On that note, ‘Little Buddha’ are bound to make many admirer’s themselves.
Little Buddha official website
Little Buddha on myspace
