The Broken Heartbreakers – Tuning Fork October 31, 2015

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DSC_8520The Broken Heartbreakers played a warm, heartfelt set of tuneful songs, spaciously presented with subtlety and skill. The lush harmonies of Rachel Bailey and John Guy Howell were impressive, and the guitar work of the pair also very tasteful and melodic.

This band has been together since 2002, and I saw them in a late night Wine Cellar gig almost a decade ago… but they were of the quality that I remembered it still. Halloween was the night for them to play an album release show of their latest offering to Auckland, How We Got To Now.

Bailey’s vocals have an impressive depth and complexity of timbre, and a wide range also – and some songs really brought out the power of this gift. At times sounding not unlike Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star, or Joni Mitchell in one of her darker moments, when the voice was allowed to dominate in sparse settings and even some partially acappella arrangements, ( such as the powerfully sung Somebody Please) these were the most moving parts of the night, in my view.

Songs were introduced in a biographical manner, which was interesting but can sometimes take away from the enigma of the lyrics and the chance for universal varying interpretation of the songs, as then the context is locked into one place. The introduction to I’m Not Dead for example was perhaps redundant, as the song speaks for itself, and eloquently, in a pretty pop tune about the existential crisis of time passing without some of the usual accruements of life stages.

Twenty and Ten, an ( Irish-sounding) lament about the Ireland monetary crisis of 2010 when the IMF restructuring effectively ripped apart the hearts of families in Ireland, has a haunting melody if overly literal lyrics at times. But Bailey’s voice was as always the trump card.

Swipe Card Valley was introduced as a kind of protest song from Bailey’s time being a corporate slave in Carlton Gore Road. The Revolution of the Wolves was a beautifully presented political song about zero hour contracts and lack of power in a globalised workforce.

Tripping Through the Ruins was my highlight of the night, with it’s refrain “may your river always flow” touching.

As I spotted Steve Abel in the audience I was hoping they would bring him up to contribute to a song or too, as he is credited as one of the “Auckland Voices” on the record, but alas he simply was there to enjoy the show after contributing his own set of poetry reading earlier.

Opener Reb Fountain joined in for the end of Steve Abel’s reading and turned in a typically stunning set of her own, assisted by Dylan Storey

Overall the playing was excellent, the rhythm section of Richard Pickard on bass and Jeff Harford on drums locking in a tight groove for Howell’s jangling Rickenbacker to hover over and the folksy strum of Bailey’s acoustic guitar to sit on nicely. There was however a stage presence somewhat lacking, with more natural audience interaction possibly needed to bring out the best of their live show, and a tad more urgency in the delivery. But that is a minor quibble, and possibly limited to the night in question, in an otherwise well delivered masterful performance by some competent and seasoned musicians from our very own Dunedin.

Stephen Allely

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