MELIN MELYN + MF TOMLINSON – DUST, BRIGHTON 26.3.25
I’ve been trying to see Melin Melyn for quite some time now, but they’ve been eluding me. However, tonight I’ve managed to track them down, together with their support act MF Tomlinson, to Brighton’s Dust club. Here’s what occurred.
MF Tomlinson (Michael Francis Tomlinson) is a London based singer/songwriter. He’s originally from Brisbane, Australia, but I could have sworn that he said he and his band are from Canada! I must have misheard. Maybe they’re secretly Canadian, although I do believe that’s a record label. Wherever they’re from, they are clearly very punctual, as they arrive onstage fifteen minutes early. To be fair, the time that they arrive is the time that the lady in the box office told me that they would be starting. Anyway, as they stand onstage, the music over the PA carries on playing, the band look confused, one of the crew from the venue has a word with them and they poddle off.
Fifteen minutes tick around and they duly return. Michael is joined by Gail, who plays flute, keyboards and guitar, plus a drummer and a bassist. Now the gang are all here, so to speak, they kick off with ‘Winter Time Blues’. It has a soft flute motif, and the song does have a blues feel, but it’s not your standard 12-bar. The intensity dials up a notch as Gail plays a flute solo, followed by a storming guitar solo from Michael. Gail then joins in again on the flute. Michael is using two capos on his Danelectro guitar. I haven’t seen this done before, but I guess that it’s to accommodate two different keys.
Next up is ‘Blink And You’ll Miss It’, which is from Michael’s forthcoming album ‘Die To Wake Up From A Dream’, which is due out in July. Gail plays keyboards on this, and then switches to flute. The song is quite slow and relatively delicate, and reminds me of The Low Anthem. The vocals may be going through the keyboards as when Michael sings there is a choral effect. That could be my ears however! There is a barely audible synth on the backing track, which the band think is too loud. If they hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have noticed it! ‘Dream Of You’ features Gail on an Epiphone Les Paul. Is there any instrument that this girl can’t play?!! She plays it relatively delicately but that Gibson (okay, Epiphone) crunch is still there. There’s a flying guitar solo from Michael. It’s the loudest song so far, but it’s still relatively restrained.
They finish with the title song from the forthcoming album. It’s apparently a “ten minute prog jam”. Excellent!!! To be fair, it’s somewhat more structured than that. The sound is quite distorted with some lovely swooping flute. Once again some nice guitar soloing too. Michael doesn’t use a pick, but then again, neither did Jeff Beck. Tonight’s support slot is something of an eye-opener. Judging by what we’ve heard tonight, the ‘Die To Wake Up From A Dream’ album is really going to be a thing of beauty.
MF Tomlinson setlist:
‘Winter Time Blues’
‘Blink And You’ll Miss It’
‘Dream Of You’
‘Die To Wake Up From A Dream’
After a reasonably quick turnaround Melin Melyn take the stage. In Welsh, Melin Melyn means “yellow mill”, and there is indeed a model of a yellow windmill at the front of the stage. Their debut album is called ‘The Mill On The Hill’, and it is part concept album, and part children’s story. The premise is that the mill doesn’t make flour, but produces songs, and is also powered by song. The band are the millers, and the audience are the villagers. Indeed, the band are all wearing millers overalls (smocks), each with their first name embroidered on it. How lovely. There seem to be a great number of children’s TV influences at work here. I’m thinking specifically ‘Camberwick Green’, ‘Trumpton’ and ‘Chigley’. As well as this idealised fictional world, real life is occasionally allowed to intrude, as we shall see later.
The music itself is fairly complex, as is amply demonstrated by opening song ‘Mill On The Hill – Intro’. In many ways they sound like an amalgam of Super Furry Animals and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci; not just in the way that they sound, but by the level of imagination evident in their songs, and also the fact that some of their songs are sung in Welsh. For all of the similarities that I’ve mentioned, the band very much has its own identity. Many of the songs feature a pedal steel. This is an instrument that I tend to view with suspicion: I fear that its use is a precursor to the wearing of cowboy hats and lots of yelling of “yeeee hawwwww!!!” However, that it is not the case here. The instrument simply adds to the songs’ atmosphere. I don’t think that Melin Melyn will be aiming to grace the stage at the Grand Ole Opry anytime soon. Okay, there is a slight flavour of country in some of their material, but it’s by no means overwhelming.
Audience partition is strongly encouraged at a Melin Melyn gig. During ‘I Paint Dogs’ vocalist Gruff Glyn asks the populace of the by now rammed venue to bark and howl like dogs. His suggestion is joyfully taken up. Before ‘Promised Land’, Gruff tells us that he’s heard that the mill’s landlord is planning to demolish the mill and build a car park on the site. This is perfectly believable in the current economic and political climate. Naturally, we (the audience / villagers) are horrified. Hopefully it’s just a rumour. I hope I’m not getting into the story just a little bit too much??? Incidentally, ‘Promised Land’ has a lovely melodic bass line, plus a cool guitar solo.
Before they launch into ‘Fantastic Food’ Gruff tells us that he found a shard of plastic in his falafel earlier in the day. An awful thing to happen, I’m sure you’ll agree. ‘Dewyn Dwl’ is in Welsh, and apparently is about a wizard. I grew up in North Wales and by the age of 13 could just about hold a conversation in Welsh. I’ve forgotten it all now sadly.
‘Hold The Line’ is dedicated to somebody called Lisa, who works for an energy company, and is about a telephone call that Gruff made to said company. I’m sure we’ve all been there: kept on hold for eternity. This is very Super Furry Animals, and very witty. Gruff plays sax (on a stand) and guitar simultaneously, which is awfully impressive. For ‘Derek’ all of the band apart from Gruff take a break for “lunch”. They all sit down onstage and munch apples. Very healthy! Gruff meanwhile sings with a most impressive vibrato. I wonder when he gets to eat his apple? Maybe after the gig.
A cool electric piano riff leads into ‘Nefoedd Yr Adar’, another Welsh language song, which has an excellent piano solo too. Just before ‘18-30’ a guy in a suit and wearing shades (he looks proper evil) comes onstage and hands Gruff a piece of paper. It’s an eviction notice!!! We all boo loudly, and rightly so!!! The guy in the suit doesn’t care and walks off. Bassist Garmon has to sing the song as Gruff is too upset (Garmon has an excellent baritone incidentally). Gruff does manage to play a very moving sax solo though, and sing harmonies. Guitarist Will adds some delicate finger-picking too.
Gruff is angry and rips up the notice. ‘Masterplan’ is very punchy, and is the kind of song that you would play after ripping up an eviction notice. ‘Running On MT’ however is an absolute tour de force, featuring honky tonk piano, a pedal steel solo and a storming guitar solo. It has a very definite country flavour when it speeds up too. Gruff takes a call at the end of the song. It’s from the Lady Mayoress. A deal has been struck to keep the mill open!!! Naturally we rejoice (you may be able to tell that by this point I have complete suspension of disbelief). The band uses this as an opportunity to promote their merch. This seems to work quite well, as at the end of the show the majority of the audience head to the merch table.
They announce their last song, telling us that it’s “quiet and gentle”. Now, I wouldn’t in any way accuse the band of telling an untruth, but I do feel that we’ve been slightly misled, as it rocks like I don’t know what!!! The song is ‘Mill On The Hill – Outro’, and as well as being the closing song on the album, it also really is the last song of the show. There is no encore, but it really doesn’t feel as if one is needed. This has been a very complete gig. Thoroughly entertaining, funny, witty and thought-provoking. I’m not entirely sure how long it lasted. Time seemed to have stopped while the band were playing. Maybe that was my suspension of disbelief though.
Melin Melyn:
Gruff Glyn – vocals, guitar, saxophone
Garmon Rhys – bass and vocals
Will Barratt – guitar
Rhodri Brooks – pedal steel, guitar, percussion
Cai Dyfan – drums
Dylan Morgan – keyboards
Melin Melyn setlist:
‘Mill On The Hill’ (Intro)
‘Vitamin D’
‘I Paint Dogs’
‘Promised Land’
‘Fantastic Food’
‘Dewin Dwl’
‘Hold The Line’
‘Derek’
‘Nefoedd Yr Adar’
‘Dail’
‘The Pigeon & The Golden Egg’
‘18-30’
‘Masterplan’
‘Running On MT’
‘Mill On The Hill’ (Outro)
