Cargo is one of my favourite venues (the memories of last year’s Supersilent performance still linger on in my singed synapses), although I can never find the place, resulting in me spending an unnecessary amount of time tramping about through London’s trendy Shoreditch in the very-much-du-jour pissing rain.  The warm glow induced by this ATP-promoted avant-folk event soon dried me out though.

Hush Arbors is the trading name of sometime Six Organ Keith Wood. “Matt Groening!”, was Mandrew’s customary looky-likey contribution, although the helium-guzzling vocals brought to my mind Geddy Lee, and in particular Pavement’s curiosity as to the pitch of his speaking voice.  Accompanied by Leon J. Dufficy who swathed the songs in a blanket of feedback, Hush Arbors were pretty fine, although suffered a little from being in the same two-guitar format (one traditional, one troublemaker) as the headliner, who did it with a bit of added excitement.

Anyone pining for a return to Six Organs Of Admittance’s Fahey-esque phase which peaked with the wonderful School Of The Flower should look away now: last year’s scuzzy The Sun Awakens appears to have been a signpost, not an outpost.  Ben Chasny has now recruited Magik Markers’ Elisa Ambrogio to the band; Chasny is thus freed to concentrate on playing his electric quasi folk while someone else does the electric what-the-fuck? 

Ambrogio spent half of the show on her knees, giving her guitar some real tough love (overhead, underfoot, upside down), creating a malevolent cacophony. By the end of the gig she was down to four strings, the other two lashing around like whip tails, but she continued to riff and slash and scrub, pausing occasionally to whisper surprisingly soft harmonies. As Chasny and Ambrogio eyed and circled and pushed each other, one couldn’t help but pick up on real frisson in the chemistry between them.

The new album Shelter From the Ash comes out in a couple of months on Drag City; I’m guessing most of the setlist came from this.  A cut-to-ribbons “Home” from School of The Flower did feature towards the end, as did – or did I imagine this – a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “That’s Alright”.  Just after I’d said to Mandrew that I was hoping for “The Chain” too…

More photos on the flickr