Gavin James
★ ★ ★
Gavin James is all business in Dingle, hopping on to the stage and straight into a tune called For You. James has a reputation as being one of the nicest men in the business and it’s easy to believe; he’s all gentle humour and shy introductions, though not afraid to skip up and down a vocal register over the clean lines of his radio-friendly pop. When joined on stage by Chris Robb, it’s easy enough to imagine these tracks swelling with scale and daytime drama, the emotion setting lips to tremble with a string section or two.
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James is signed to Capitol Records in the US and has support slots with Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran under his belt, which chimes with the glossy, mainstream nature of the tracks. With just one studio album to date (last month's Bitter Pill), James doesn't have a huge back catalogue, and here fills out a surprisingly large 45 minute slot with several covers. The Book of Love by Magnetic Fields might appeal to those with a sweet tooth, but playing We Have All the Time in the World, with mouthed jazz trumpet and a dodgy Louis Armstrong impression, is a stroke more suited to the pub than the stage of St James's.
Keaton Henson
★ ★ ★ ★
Keaton Henson seems like a musician from a different age. Elusive and enigmatic, he hardly ever plays live because of stage fright – even Other Voices presenter Huw Stephens admits that when he saw Henson’s name on the bill, he assumed it was a mistake. But here he is, with guitar and piano weaving a delicate kind of magic on a dark and Dingle night.
Henson’s discomfort in the spotlight is palpable, if unnecessary. He coaxes out the tracks with a gracious delicacy, almost as if he’s afraid he will spook the horses of his own tracks. His spare lyrics describe relationships almost in their entirety, even if he revolves almost exclusively around a single self-deprecating and lovelorn theme. Occasionally the tracks and his confidence buckle, and he has to abandon one new song that he admits he doesn’t know very well. The fact that he plays several new tracks here at all show he’s willing to take risks despite the self doubt.
“After all I’m an artist / That’s the most honest thing I’ve written yet / So forgive me I’ll sing it again / Don’t forget me,” he whispers. With performances of this finely worked nuance, that’s hardly likely.
Gaz Coombes
★ ★ ★ ★
Gaz Coombes is one of the more intriguing men in British music. Roaring into Britpop culture with the brilliant I Should Coco just over 20 years ago, Supergrass have a special place in many people's hearts. And when it looked like the band had run its course, Coombes and co simply stopped the show and moved on.
Coombes, though, has plenty more to say and his second solo album, Matador, rightly got a nomination for this year's Mercury Prize. (This year it was won by Benjamin Clementine, who was on the cards to play Other Voices but didn't make it at the last minute.) Coombe's latest record is a substantial, layered piece of complex electronic rock, striking out into dark and intriguing territory.
Here, the arrangements have been stripped back a little, with Coombes relying on some loops, samples and his own innate showmanship to carry the hour, and it’s a cracking way to spend the evening. Detroit has swagger and charm, Seven Walls has its cool credentials in order, and White Noise from Here Come the Bombs is a fine bolt of emotion from the blue. Add to this the natural charm of a man at the tail end of a very fine year in his career, and you have a terrific Other Voices set.
From there it is the turn of Dublin grunge rock outfit Otherkin and the classy electro pop of Ane Brun. Last year Otherkin played the Other Voices music trail and this year get a promotion to the church. They respond with a high energy, rock and pop attack.
Ane Brun, closing out this year’s festival, delivers a rich accomplished set of slick electro pop. She plays Dublin’s Vicar Street tonight, December 7th.
