Harum Scarum
“One of the best live acts we’ve seen all year” – Time Out
“it’s rough, ragged, blues in its veins. It’s dark, atmospheric, oddball and surreal; it’s on your doorstep and in your airspace, alien yet talking the same language about the same ol’ trials and tribulations of a life lived” – Drowned in Sound
” By turns ethereal and fleshly, this album showcases an inspired new band with fire at their fingertips.” – NME
“It’s raw, it’s bold, it’s bluesy, it’s drenched in reverb and it’s brilliant. This real homegrown family partnership could give Jack and Meg a run for their money” – The Sun 4.5/5
London thoroughbred brother and sister duo Joe Gideon & The Shark are a sight and sound to behold. Joe Gideon pounds bass and guitar whilst narrating his autobiographical tales of misadventure, and little sister Viva (The Shark) drives the whole thing along with glorious drums and piano and 8-track (often, incomprehensibly, all at the same time).
Meandering through soundscapes that take in beat-fuelled rifforama, voodoo-injected grooves and melodious beauty, their sound is both comfortably spacious and foot-stompingly intense. And highly original. Viva’s artistry is gracious and almost gymnastic, evidently a trait learned from her days as a ribbon-twirling athlete (a rhythmic gymnast to be precise) who represented the UK in the Barcelona Olympics. (Incidentally, Viva got the ribbons out once more when starring in the video for Archie Bronson Oufit’s Dead Funny). Gideon was not around to witness his sister’s glory, instead he was on the opposite side of the globe on the jury panel judging Miss Bolivia. In a roundabout way, this microcosmically befits the picture painted by the band.
Formerly to be seen in the ‘dread-fuelled’ Bikini Atoll (Bella Union, and produced by Steve Albini), Joe Gideon and the Shark have discarded the darkness and have walked into the light. This light is in part provided by Gideon’s humorous and fantastical monologues which hook you in to their world. A Joe Gideon and the Shark record thus provides and indie rock classic and a talking book all for the price of one.
This highly original act has already been invited by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Seasick Steve, the Duke Spirit and Archie Bronson Outfit to play with them, and the band can now add Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Hold Steady, Cymbals Eat Guitars, and Andrew Weatherall to their list of admirers following recent invites to perform with them.
UK Tour dates:
7/7 – Rough Trade at The ICA – London
7/10 – Lounge On The Farm Festival – Canterbury
7/11 – Cactus Festival – Brugge
7/17 – Garden Nef Festival – Angouleme
7/18 – Latitude Festival – Henman Park / Southwold
7/21 – Parklife Festival – Milan
7/30 – Putte I Parken Festival – Karlskoga
7/31 – Storas Festival – Storas
8/2 – Standon Calling festival – Hertfordshire
8/13 – Oya Night at The Garage – Oslo
8/23 – Green Man Festival – Powys
9/11 – Bestival – Isle Of White
9/13 – End Of The Road Festival – Dorset
9/23 – Crawdaddy – Dublin
9/24 – Sandinos with Jim Jones Revue – Derry
9/25 – Open House Festival – Belfast