Brighton's best...
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Herman Düne...
review I wish I was a boy and could grow a big bushy beard. I’d join Herman Düne or Royal City and make luscious, hushed hillbilly harmonies.I don’t know why but it’s always a pleasure to hear ‘thee’ used in songs, never more so than in Royal City’s short and sweet first ditty ‘I’m a Raw Youth, I’m a Restless Youth, But I Shall Keep With Thee’. Their singer has a lovely beard. It’s a melancholy set. It gets more upbeat, but only just. Like all good Americana, perfect commiserative music. Saw Herman Düne at last year’s anti-folk night and thoroughly shamed myself. Thought they were blinding, though I’d no idea who they were. Grabbed a passing bare-chested fellow and asked who the band were. He repeated their name several times, finally writing it down for me, umlauts and all, before admitting modestly: “I’m in the band." Oüch. And there he is, up on the stage again, David (or Dihd) Düne and his brother André, and a little chap called Néman on drums, who might also be a brother too. David’s remarkable sideburn bangs have gone, but he’s wearing giant tinted shades with one of the lenses poked out. André’s skinhead has grown out. They’ve both still got admirable beards. Fogged in cigarette smoke, Herman Düne exhude an understated, laconic air tempered with a dry humour; they're at once self-assured and self-effacing. It’s a very different feel to last year’s gig amidst the sweat and jostle of the Free Butt. Here at the Komedia it’s all very civilised. There’s table-seating and Andre teases: “You’re so Brighton, sitting there with your candles." We chuckle sheepishly. He’s right. We should be dancing. They promise new songs but invite us to call out for older tunes. After a while the requests are piling in, revealing their prolific back-catalogue - “You Could Be A Model!", “In August!." “You’ll have to give me the first line of ‘In August’" says André unconcerned at the necessary prompt, before easing into another aching melody. Just two lead guitars, a drumkit with bongos and some very soft, plush beaters create the Herman Düne sound. That and lilting French-sounding accents singing whimsical, strangely seductive lyrics. Sometimes they add a ukelele, delicately produced from a tiny violin case, at other times a musical saw. Sometimes they sing acapella and it’s spine-tingling, as when André does Tom Wait’s ‘Innocent When You Dream’ accompanied by Néman on wailing saw. For an encore David on ukele is joined by Néman on soft, scratchy drums and André on ring-pull. Yes, the ring-pull of his lager can, like he just thought of it, and you believe he could have, believe anything of Herman Düne and their damn great beards... Check out Melting Vinyl's website for more sublime gigs.
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