Live Review: Jonathan Boulet - Prince Bandroom

9 July 2012 | 7:30 pm | Ching Pei Khoo

Boulet’s journey displays bold, stylistic confidence as he and his four band members cut through a performance that runs just shy of an hour in the stripped interior of the Prince.

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Folk pop is having an adolescent moment. In Jonathan Boulet's case, it is laden with the thunderous beat of a warrior's drum, intermittent primal screaming, heavy instrumental and vocal layering, and a compelling call to arms. Not that different from your typical teenager as they chart their way from the comfort in which they were once ensconced to stretch themselves and explore tentatively beyond familiar boundaries. But Boulet's journey displays bold, stylistic confidence as he and his four band members cut through a performance that runs just shy of an hour in the stripped interior of the Prince. On a freezing Friday night, Boulet marches through a succession of boisterous tracks from his newly launched second album We Keep The Beat, Found The Sound, See The Need, Start The Heart.

There is no attempt to tuck in a track or two featuring quieter harmonies and drifting, dreamy vocals, which characterised his debut self-titled album, lest that dreaded 'folk pop' tag sticks. Even though there are at least a couple of these gems, such as Piao Voca Slung and Cent Voix, on this latest album. Instead, the band opens with military-style pounding drums in Black Smokehat with its telling lyrics, “To stay the same what a waste/What a waste/I just want some justice done/Oh my god, you wonder.”

Unlike the album version, Boulet's voice becomes another layer against the soundscape – often just barely skimming above the two guitars, his own bass and not one but two drum kits.  A common theme in the tracks – such as Mangle Trang and This Song Is Called Ragged – is the cheeky catch-me-if-you-can plucking of electric guitar, like a mischievous rhythm that escapes from Boulet's head and leads the other band members on a merry chase. Indeed, Boulet sometimes appears as if he's on the cusp of catching that elusive tune through his tightly shut eyes, urgent hand-clapping and impulsive foot-stamping.

The young man is humbly polite and admits genuine astonishment at the turnout, sincerely thanking everyone including the supporting acts. He dusts off his signature anti-establishment anthem A Community Service Announcement as the penultimate track of the night to a rapturous crowd. Its message of 'living in your dreams' a reassuring reminder that he has not forgotten his endearing core philosophy of yesteryear. He's just having a growth spurt.

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