Thirteen Senses

I don’t know whether it is the intention, but this band of Cornish crusaders manage to split tonight’s set into two very distinct halves. Beginning with a run of plodding, Starsailor-esque tunes, Thirteen Senses do not immediately display evidence of being the supposed missing link between Coldplay and Radiohead. That is until lead vocalist and piano tinkler, Will South, introduces debut single, ‘Thru the Glass’. It is only at this point that the band disregard the generic, trundling swoons and sweeps, and proceed to fill the second half of their set with an inspired mixture of delicate melodies and towering anthems.

Their aforementioned single release is as varied and catchy as its recorded counterpart, and their subsequent tunes are delivered with an equally keen sense of measure and melodic invention. Stripping down to just piano and guitar for the sublime ‘Perfect’, South’s plaintive and peaky voice is the ideal vessel for this song’s effectively simple melody. With some Jonny Buckland twinkles and moans from Tom Welham on the guitar, it is a definite indication of this band’s ability to pen some truly memorable tunes. ‘Lead Us’ rises through its meandering verse then falls back into a sweetly descending chorus, whilst penultimate number ‘Automatic’ is a piano-led call to arms that contains a chorus line born to be sung in arenas across the country.

With the buzz surrounding Thirteen Senses set to continue for some time, let’s hope the current adulation does not smother a band who have the songs to make a great debut album (‘Falls In the Dark’ – released later this year) but are still developing as a consistently confident live act. I still have absolutely no idea what happened during the first half, mmm…