Goodnight Lenin, Good Evening Cambridge - 5th December

We all hate being pigeon-holed, put into a defining box that in the end limits us creatively. There are however times when it is useful to place a style or genre on an artist as a way of identifying them, particularly when it's the written word describing music or sounds. Sometimes describing the sound of a band proves difficult and being able to say it's grunge, or folk or they sound like Radiohead without the electronics or Erasure with dirty guitars has such a common language between music lovers, that it makes it easier to get across the ideas about music and songs and sounds.

So it was when I spoke with John Fell singer and vocalist with Goodnight Lenin who are playing the Portland Arms in Cambridge this Monday 5th Dec, I described them as Nu-Folk and asked about the plethora of artists that are currently using folk sounds within their music. I had really only heard and seen the video on You Tube for the single Crook and the Creek and had so pigeon-holed Goodnight Lenin on this basis. In my defence it was a easy mistake to make, Crook and the Creek is a great modern folk track and as John himself said they video didn't do them any favours in that regard. But now having heard the full range on offer I can see and hear they are far more that the Nu-folk label.

Formed back in 2009, Goodnight Lenin's songs are reminiscent of the singer songwriters of the yesteryear the 1960s & 1970s, Dylan, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Burt Bacharach and Simon & Garfunkel, John said "these are the artists they are trying to emulate in their song writing but still try to add some more modern, still being relevant today". They constantly strive to deliver honest, experience based lyrics that flow along into their carefully crafted sound that seamlessly crosses genres. (OK I get it now)

Vocals are at the very forefront of Goodnight Lenin's sound and John said "because the vocal and harmony are so important to the sound of Goodnight Lenin they try not to play gigs back to back one night after another". So you know that each gig you will get the full on sound of vocals from the guys.

So forget genres and pigeon-hole boxes and get yourself down to the Portland Arms on Monday night to see Goodnight Lenin play some great songs that may or may not be Folk or Nu-folk or Alt country.