It's hardly novel, but it works: showcasing four singer-songwriters is as good a way as any of pitching the work of disparate personalities to an unsuspecting public, even if most of the audience at the launch gig turned out to be friends and relatives. Not that it prevented Keith Moss from grandstanding.
A curious mixture of Bernard Butler and Loudon Wainwright III, Moss sings songs with titles almost as grandiose as his demeanour. Paying scant attention to the usual range of rhyming schemes, he's an instinctive performer, occasionally self-conscious and overwrought, but someone to keep a judicious eye out for.
Sisters Jessie and Layla have a more circumspect approach to songwriting and performing. Hampered by a style verging on the dreary, a song such as Hotel In Galway was, alas, typical of the conservatism inherent in their material. They made no attempt to engage the audience, and while nerves might have contributed, it's a pity their personalities didn't shine through.
Speaking of personality: a glass of red wine on a white tablecloth, a waiter's uniform of white shirt and black trousers, an impromptu spot of break-dancing and a voice that cut through the previous acts like a hot knife through butter - Matt Lunson paraded his talent in a muted manner, sitting down and dredging up a mixture of Tim and Jeff Buckley and a host of others. Yet Lunson has talent.
Clive Barnes was an incongruous addition to the equation. A supremely deft slide guitarist, Barnes performed material that seemed out of place, his burned, Tom Waits-like vocals making his songs indistinct and his intentions blurred. It was a disappointing end to an intriguing night.
Acoustic 4x4 are at Dolans Warehouse, Limerick, on October 11th and The Stables, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, on October 19th
