If you wanted the perfect chilled out Sunday night, you could have done a lot worse than heading to Brudenell Social Club last weekend.
The place already has such a relaxed vibe, but throw in Australian singer-songwriter Emily Barker and her particular brand of Americana tinged folk songs, and it’s the perfect wind-down.
Kicking things off though was compatriot Liz Stringer. The London-based artist hails from Melbourne originally and her stories are beautifully crafted, drawing the audience in to her battles, but with a delicious undercurrent of Aussie humour. Go and give The Metrologist a listen to start with, but Stringer has new music out tomorrow (on all the familiar streaming platforms).
The crowd swelled somewhat as Emily Barker stepped unassumingly onto the stage. Backed by Rob Pemberton (drums, synths, vocals) and Alex Heane (bass and vocals), they moved straight into With Small We Start.
The set list is a mix of old and new, the more recent work coming from the Fragile As Humans record. As the set moves on, Barker explains the inspiration for some of the songs – crafting lyrics and verses for different people, drawing on personal encounters and the poetry of Emily Dickinson.
Life is for an Hour is an ode to creativity, which tells the story of Dickinson’s process of writing poetic snippets on the back of old envelopes and the freedom a child in the foster system found in writing. Here, Barker recalls a quote – “live your purpose detached from the outcome” – one that encourages her creativity for creativity’s sake. The joy and happiness of expression through poetry and writing.
Where Have The Sparrows Gone? is beautifully crafted, performed with Stringer returning to the stage to play keys and, considering the short time the quartet on stage have been together, has the most captivating harmonies.
Barker moves seamlessly from guitar to keys to accompany her storytelling. At times beautifully simple, at others, satisfyingly complex – “this one’s got more chords than a Billy Joel song” – the arrangements are great, combining some creative double bass craft from Heane alongside the electronic sounds of Pemberton’s modular synth.
For a couple of songs, Barker takes the stage solo, excusing the other members of the band who she hopes are not eating all of the cheese and biscuits they put on the rider. In this interlude, we get a Bob Dylan cover and, by request, the second of Barker’s crime thriller themes, the poignant Pause, which accompanied the series The Shadow Line.
The evening is one of expertly crafted music, both from Stringer and Barker. There’s a simple joy among those on stage, reveling in the performance and the connection with the audience. An ideal way to draw the weekend to a close – celebrating creativity, lyricism and storytelling, just for its own sake.
