Fains - 8/11/15

A last minute trip to Cardiff to see Fains, a guitar plus violin duo playing a small venue in front of a tiny audience. First up was guitarist Jim Ghedi who played a solo guitar in a distinctive style which was Spanish-guitar influenced and the set was really good. I went away clutching a CD and it is getting played. Fains featuring my niece, Jo, on violin and Nick Jonah Davis on guitar were also very distinctive and very good. The guitar was intricate and unusual and blended beautifully with a more direct and raucous (in a nice way) violin. The duo had recently prepared the last twenty or minutes or so of the set and I liked the rawer sound of the last couple of tracks although it was all good and enjoyable and deserved a proper audience. It is difficult music to categorise which is always a good sign and I hope to hear more soon.