Introducing Babe Shadow

Imagine if HG Wells' Time Machine (or Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure) was, in fact, a preview of things to come. We could create all manner of impossible situations. Like travelling back 15 years to meet then-alive Jeff Buckley, only to transport him to the mid-1960s in order to record a rare unreleased duet with a Blonde On Blonde era Bob Dylan. If your mind is as partial to inner ramblings as mine, you have the same inkling as you glance upon the above picture. To our mutual surprise then this is actually a picture of Tom Cawte and David Thornley. Who, you say?

If their demo Sea Serpents is anything to go by, bedroom musicians Babe Shadow have been experimenting to delightful folksy effect since Buckley's passing - almost. Which is bloody fantastic if you're sick of hearing that the next sophisticated art collective hails from Brooklyn. Based in London they were discovered by the same people at Luv who found Florence Welch warbling in a club toilet cubicle (yes, really). Their folk-pop transcends the limits of the Northern Line borrowing instrumentals from the same worldly school as Vampire Weekend and is set for a late April release. Haunting vocals with a hint of the Marc Bolan quiver about them (or for the younger among you, a softer Nathan Willett - Cold War Kids), may go some way to explain their dark broody exterior. And that name, which is most likely a reference to T Rex and not something vacuously emo. But this is strictly for fans of Devendra Banhart / Noah & The Whale. Head to: http://www.myspace.com/babeshadowband

What's more, we at BOOMerang Kid are massive supporters of Florence & The Machine (in case you hadn't already gathered) whom Babe Shadow will be supporting on the eagerly anticipated UK leg of the Cosmic Love Tour (wink wink, nudge nudge Island Records). See the flame-haired harp-reinventing sorceress conjure up some ethereal magic and a helluva lot of howling crescendos (while potentially sacrificing some fluffy things onstage) at the following venues:

• 5th & 6th May - Edinburgh Corn Exchange
• 7th & 9th May - Blackpool Empress Ballroom
• 10th & 11th May - Wolverhampton Civic Theatre
• 13th, 14th, 15th May - London Hammersmith Apollo

Jaz x