It's always a pleasure to come to The Stables, even more so for a fine double bill introducing #TEAMw21 to an act we have never crossed paths with before in the shape of My Girl The River, while also affording us the chance to see another Sorrel Nation fast on the route to becoming an overnight sensation that has really been many years in the making.
It has to be said that My Girl The River are quite possibly the most unassuming bands #TEAMw21 have ever seen, as they walked in and took a second or so to admire the very packed stage, it was was hard to know if they were the opening act or regular punters surveying the scene before taking their seats. It was only as they stepped onto the stage and started preparing their instruments with their backs to the audience that we knew for sure. This was My Girl The River as a duo, Kris Wilkinson Hughes, in a cherry blouse, on main vocal duties and acoustic guitar, while husband Joe had to eschew his normal standup bass on lack of space grounds for a fender bass instead. Joe if anything was the master of understatement, with his hat and coat on, it was as if he might leave us at any moment. Apart from his duties on bass he would make mainly fleeting appearances on backing vocals, yet there was a certain self awareness and a little gem in his ear that caught the light every so often that suggested there might be more to him than met the eye!
Their set was something of a reviewers dream, clearly announcing each song and providing plenty to write about! Their opening song "The Galaxy Room", a 3 way love triangle song that seemed so vividly painted that it must have come from a real observation or the mind of a fertile imagination. Joe would look over as Kris would lay down a vocal that veered from slightly deeper voiced narrator through to a divinely dreamy higher pitched delivery. on the chorus. There was a little chant at the end that saw Joe add his additional vocals - an excellent start. This song and many others in the set came from their latest album "Songs About Space" which will require immediate further investigation. The next song was Kris's Mum "perfect goodbye" song, conceived during the pandemic - which came with a beautifully touching chorus including the line "We are stardust", and contained a life condensed into truly memorable moments."Information Highway" would address the "Cesspit Of the internet" addressing the dilemma that it presents, between despairing at it yet at the same time knowing that it is a necessary evil. It would see more of Joe's contributions adding a background "Highway" as Kris continued singing.
All of the songs from My Girl The River landed perfectly, none more so than "Helpless" another song born in the pandemic that really voiced the feeling of a parent feeling for their child. Beautifully observed and delivered, Kris's vocals perfectly encapsulated the emotions of the song, the already pretty much silent room seemed to collectively hold their breath as she sung.
From an earlier album "Cardinal In The Snow", the chorus of "You Do Not Deserve My Tears" immediately suggested that it had a much a bigger band version waiting to be heard. This stripped back version teasingly provided the framework of the tune invited you to immediately go and check out if the recorded version was as you imagined it. Given the quality of the preceding songs, the news that the final song would be one of Joe's might have raised an eyebrow or two. It was at this point that it was revealed he had co-written a tune, that had been covered by Annie Lennox, not just a tune but one of her signature tunes "No More I Love You's"! As we said at the start there was something of a sparkle about Joe! This version with the signature "Do do do do do do do whoa oh" sung by Joe and the assembled audience, it was a sheer joy to behold and made you instantly reassess the song. It may have been short and sweet but My Girl The River made a definite impression.
Sorrel Nation is currently embarking on a UK tour promoting her rather fine "Lost En Route" album, a genre defying album that simultaneously touches on Folk, Country and Americana with the one unifying factor being Sorrel's distinctive voice. For this tour the same musicians from the record have been marshalled together to provide a most sympathetic backing band. It was also noticeable that when members of the band were not playing on a particular song that they sat and enjoyed the performance as much as the onlooking audience. Each member of the band played a key role, the warm bass, the perfect percussion, keyboards that when required highlighted key points and the guitar sounds that brought some of the more acoustic tunes from the record boldly into life. Sorrel herself cut a slight figure, yet possessing a vocal that belied her size. Mainly found playing her acoustic guitar with one notable exception, she would prove to be a charming host and could be found most of the evening brandishing the wide smile of someone totally pleased with both how her record and now her tour was turning out.
The set would open with the shuffle of "Old Man", the keyboards and electric guitar immediately establishing more of a country atmosphere than the recorded version. With additional backing vocals this took the song off into a new direction enhancing it's country roots further. Similarly "Trouble Again" seemed more alive, Sorrel bouncing up and down as she sung on the foot stomping version, driven forward by precise percussion that never threatened to overwhelm the overall sound yet provided real oomph, while the guitar solo similarly gave extra life without trying to steal the show.
Possibly the one song that emerged slightly lesser for its transfer into the live environment was the debut single "Crazy For You" but only in the sense that it was hard to retain the subtlety of Sorrel's somewhat steamy delivery from the record. It retained that dreamy guitar and the lack of sultriness was more than made up with the power of the exploding chorus enhanced by the additional backing vocals - this was a real full band performance piece.
One of the few glimpses into Sorrel's previous catalogue came with "Slow It Down", complete with bluesy guitar and piano. It provided the perfect backing for Sorrel to have free rein with her vocals veering from rocking to barely a whisper at the end. A switch to a more acoustic sound would come with "Living Free" the song about never giving up on your dreams no matter how late in life you may get to achieve them - this was certainly brought more vividly to life by the additional keyboard parts.
One of the undoubted stand out tracks of the album is "Egg Shells" and transformed into a live performance it delivered even more. The opening organ sound, the general build up of volume throughout, the audience joining in on the "Walking on egg shells" line, the guitar contribution, all went to make this something spectacular and that is before you even factor in Sorrel's heartbreaking soaring vocals. Closing the song with the same organ sound that started it just perfectly rounded things off.
One of the two covers on the night would come with Sorrel's version of "Who Knows Where The Time Goes?", it would be the one time that she would give up her guitar and would free her up to enhance the song by the medium of hand expression. Just Sorrel and acoustic guitar were required, the rest of the band like us just watched on totally absorbed in the purity of the delivery. In the live environment "Dead Man's Road" became even more of an americana ensemble piece building on the base from the record.
For "The Way The Wind Blows", the bass player who had all but caressed his instrument the whole evening would move to playing with a bow, the main guitarist for the show would disappear and sit at the back of the stage behind him out of view. Sorrel would provide context as to what the song was about and instantly the lyrics seemed to become more visceral. The keyboard perfectly accentuated certain parts with just a few notes yet somehow it added so much to the overall result.
A further example of the band coming together for a true ensemble performance came with "Life Needs No Reason But Love", made all the more amazing by its inclusion being a last minute decision to tie in with Mental Awareness Day - if the band were winging it they did an excellent job.
The live context continued to transform songs, "Wild Solitude", wit a few words of introduction seemed to conjure up the images of what was being sung about. The final song of the main set was the title track of Sorrel's new record "Lost En Route", one final magnificent set piece especially when Sorrel hit the "It's not my problem" line. It encapsulated the evening, the band working as one, able to switch from being almost silent to rocking out in style with a searing guitar solo - the vocals from Sorrel equally rising and falling to great effect.
The encore would provide the second cover of the night in the shape of Marshall Tucker's "Can't You See" which provided a rootsy Southern rock finale, the piano was delightfully high in the mix, the backing vocals from the stage were later joined by an audience clap along which all came together to provide a perfect way to polish off the night.
Sorrel's tour continues on Sunday - if you can catch one of the remaining date it will be well worth it.
