Daughter

Daughter’s first headline show in the second city, much like their debut album, was a long time coming, but similarly worth the wait.

Main support comes from Bear’s Den, who tick all the folk boxes with a sound that flits between the delicate folk of Daughter’s early EPs and the rousing harmonies of Fleet Foxes. Their short set is well-received and nicely scene-setting.

Bathed in red, Daugher – the trio of Elena Tonra, Igor Haefeli and Remi Aguilella – soon enter in the unassuming manner that typifies their performance. They begin Shallows without a word, and the crowd follows suit. Not many sell-out crowds are this pin-drop quiet; attentively soaking up every fragile sound. And the sporadic singalongs – particularly for Landfill and Youth – are almost hushed and respectful, so as not to disturb what’s going on onstage.

Every sound to come from the stage is equally intricate and considered; every string is plucked with care, every cymbol hit with the right pressure, every intonation of Elena’s voice is affecting. Even when things get loud – when Igor uses a bow to draw some haunting sounds from his guitar on Love and Still – the utmost care is still taken.

Like the titles in their 13-song set suggest (Smother, Human), they don’t shy away from big, melancholy subjects. And a close listen to their lyrics may leave you concerned for singer-songwriter Elena, but tonight she beams with joy, admitting they are overwhelmed to be back playing their own sell-out gig having supported twice in the Institute before.

She even cracks up during Amsterdam after changing the words to Birmingham, and again during Winter, apologising profusely for each, as well as apologising for not ironing her top. It’s a joy to see them come alive onstage throughout, matching their mesmerising craft with genuine chemistry.

With a clearly dedicated fan base and a top 20 album now under their belt, the future is bright for this young band and they’re clearly as excited about it as anyone. Just don’t expect their music to reflect that any time soon.

Setlist:

Anticipating an austere autumn

As the frankly pathetic summer we’ve had nears its equally pathetic end, it isn’t all bad news. The lack of sun has meant a lack of (or need for) distinctly summery releases. But, an autumn of falling leaves, dark evenings and, if it’s possible, even more rain will soon provide an appropriately bleak background for the most anticipated releases of the coming months.

Whether it’s just my taste or not, it seems to be the autumn of the delicate and heart-breaking female vocalist. And I love nothing more than a pretty voice singing something miserable.

The xx have unveiled the first two songs from their long awaited second album, set to be released on 10 September. Angels, the album opener, is a typically sparse affair, built solely around Romy Madley Croft’s beautiful vocals. It’s a brave move by the band to release such a subtle song as their first new music in three years, especially with the mainstream success their debut went on to have after its Mercury win. But it has certainly rekindled my love for them.



Natasha Khan aka Bat for Lashes also returns, with her third album The Haunted Man released on 15 October. She debuted much of the album at a one off gig in July, and a fan-recorded video of one song went particularly viral. Lucky for us that song, Laura, became the album’s first single. A piano ballad in the same vein as Sad Eyes and The Bat’s Mouth from her debut, it is a devastating piece of music, with Natasha’s lyrics offering support to a friend lost in today’s celebrity culture. Hopes are high for the album after her two near-perfect releases to date.



Last but not least, an artist that I have written a lot about on this blog over the last year has released a new song, as their debut album draws ever nearer.

Daughter, a three piece led by vocalist Elena Tonra, have to date released two stunning EPs and embarked on several tours supporting artists such as Ben Howard and Benjamin Francis Leftwich. This week they announced the release of Smother, a new song that has been recorded at Abbey Road in the sessions for their album, alongside their first US tour and largest UK headline show to date. Smother itself is another affecting number of atmospheric guitars and melancholy lyrics. Released on 1 October, it will hopefully be soon followed by an album.

Ben Howard & Daughter

It took its time in coming but my first gig of the year was seeing Ben Howard and Daughter at the HMV Institute on Tuesday (28th Feb). It was worth the wait.

Ben played every song bar one from his debut album Every Kingdom, bookended by B-side opener Depth Over Distance and encore song Burgh Island, a new song about an island just off the coast of Devon that is close to my heart as well as Ben’s.

It, like every song throughout the night, was played with boundless energy, even the ‘quiet’ ones, as Ben called them, were delivered with passion that matched the precision.

This was equally matched by a crowd as adoring and enthusiastic as any I’ve ever been a part of. Every song and every word from Ben was met with deafening screams and hysteria. Every quiet song was silently observed, every big chorus chanted back by a few thousand, as you can witness in this guerilla footage I found on YouTube.



It’s also worth noting that it was a mixed crowd, made up of all ages, with a slight lean towards female, plenty of whom embraced the following day’s tradition in order to shout early proposals to the 23-year-old.

“We played here last year in the room downstairs and were shown this room, we all said we would love to come back and play it and it’s amazing to have sold it out,” said Ben during his performance, a great example of the upwards trajectory he is on.

While his gig several days earlier at the Shepherd's Bush Empire is the date he will probably remember most, this whole tour has the feeling of witnessing something special, an artist on the brink of making it big. With a US tour this month and a US release of his album in April, as well as another UK tour later this year featuring larger venues still, taking the next step should be easy for such a great live act.

He certainly has the talent. Already an excellent songwriter, he also showcased his guitar prowess, easily switching between acoustic and electric during the performance proving he can wail as well as he can finger pick.

Each member of his band could be found in the dictionary under the word multi-instrumentalist, all switching between drums and strings and even playing both simultaneously at times. The four shared a great camaraderie on stage, all seeming delighted to be doing what they are doing. There were several points when Ben couldn’t even sing he was smiling or laughing so much, a great thing to see.

Highlights for me were Only Love, the first big singalong of the night, a loud and rousing extended version of The Wolves to close the first set, and the same for The Fear, which ended the gig.

Seeing Ben’s album at number 10 on Spotify’s UK Top 100 and two songs from it in their Top 100 songs, added to the recent success of (admittedly more pop-orientated) troubadour Ed Sheeran suggests Ben can have an impact on the charts as well as on the live scene. I'm convinced he is destined for great things.



I was equally excited to see support band Daughter, whose two devastating-in-a-good-way EPs became an obsession of mine in 2011. While only playing five songs, Elena Tonra and her band produced a hypnotic sound that resonated long after they had left the stage. Headline shows outside of London would be greatly appreciated.