On the road supporting their new record All The Right Weaknesses, Brown Horse delivered a warm, unpretentious set in Leeds’ Headrow House. In the intimate setting of the upstairs room, the Norfolk-based band gave us a great set of their folk and country-inspired alt-rock.
Main support came from Neve Cariad, who left the audience captivated with a vocal performance that was at times quite melancholy, but reminded me of the country-tinged sound of Rianne Downey. There was certainly a similarity in the quality of Cariad’s voice and there were moments where the crowd listened in pin-drop silence to her original songs.
The room continued to fill up, right up to the point the headliners arrived on stage. The lights dropped, heightening the anticipation for a short but sweet set of new and old songs.
Having started as a four-piece playing pubs across the country, they’ve honed their sound on classic folk covers and the togetherness and understanding stands out in their music, even if there’s little chat or interaction between the musicians on the stage.
It’s a great demonstration of how the chemistry between musicians doesn’t need to come through on-stage banter, but simply through the richness of the sound that is seamlessly delivered song after song.
Up front, lead singer Patrick Turner is a comforting and engaging presence though, and makes sure this isn’t simply a chilled out jam session among friends. Between songs, he fills us in on their day in the city, somewhat livelier than their last visit as Leeds United had just been crowned EFL Championship winners. You get the clear sense that football isn’t really their thing, so they found refuge in Leeds’ brand of Hobgoblin music.
“We had to go and look at some banjos to calm down” Turner quips, eliciting a warm laugh from the crowd. You can sense his relief at now being among friends, playing some cosy tunes to a packed crowd in a room above a bar.
Turner’s vocals are enhanced by the harmonies of Phoebe Troup, ensconced in the near darkness at stage left, providing some warmth and depth to the lyrics. The sound shows the influence of dustier Americana – hints of Neil Young in the mellower moments, while there’s a bit of Drive-By Truckers as they close out with…., a rockier, more electric sound.
Overall, it’s leaned more on the mellow, mid-tempo side and looking around the crowd, there are a lot of contented faces on show, soothed from the football-driven chaos out on the city’s streets by the smooth sounds and friendly, engaging chat of Turner.
A little less Marching on Together then, as the Leeds United faithful might say, more taking the scenic route through a thoroughly pleasant evening of music.
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