The Mostar Diving Club

THE MOSTAR DIVING CLUB

During the recent Exmouth Festival an unknown band (to me, at least) headlined on the Sunday evening who in hindsight can only be described as 'mesmerising'. In the festival programme it described them thus: 'Going against the grain, not only have the band been met with great critical acclaim but their music has also been featured on many TV shows and films. You may not have known the name Mostar Diving Club but you may have heard their songs used by Honda, Visa, Persil, Asda, Greys Anatomy, Castle, various documentaries and films including Waiting For Forever.' Well, I don't watch a lot of television and I'd never heard of them before.

Fronted by a guy looking like a laid-back Jarvis Cocker with a voice like a cross between Babybird and Tim Booth of James, they held sway over the festival for a full hour, keeping it practically on a knife-edge. A large number of the audience clearly wanted something upbeat that they could dance to but the band were having none of it and held them all at bay. It was like a hostage situation developing into Stockholm Syndrome.

The guy sang with such a gentle, beautiful voice accompanied by inventive, sublime music; occupying a space that was totally their own. Like the moment just before the dawn when everything can be either reborn into a new day or come horribly crashing down.

The band were called The Mostar Diving Club.