Live Review
Ane Brun – Union Chapel, London
I’m no stranger to the wailing women phenomenon. I’ve seen Tori Amos. Twice. However, little did I know as I walked into a hushed candlelit Union Chapel on Thursday night, that as far as female singer-songwriters go, past or present, Ane Brun really is exceptional.
Support came in the form of Ellie Goulding, a young and slightly awkward singer and guitarist who gave us a selection of well crafted acoustic ditties about horses, childhood and the like. She was followed by ‘the mighty’ Teitur, a friend of Ane’s, fellow Scandinavian and, according to his website, ‘extraordinary’ songwriter. Sadly, I beg to differ. I found his music self-indulgent, arrogant, lacking in any genuine emotion and frankly, by the third song in as he begins thumping away at the piano, quite aggravating. As he plugged his album and free download for the hundredth time in this unnecessarily long set, I recalled a flyer that had been forcefully thrust into my hand on the way into the venue. Retrieving it from my back pocket I see his face inevitably staring back at me. He was an irritant from the start.
Thankfully we don’t have to wait too long before Ane Brun herself takes to the stage accompanied only by three elegant backing singers, her ‘Diamonds’. Eyes wide and smiling, she picks up her guitar. The entire venue is immediately captivated and she hasn’t even played a note yet. Everything about her, the venue, and the expectant audience tells me this is going to be good, very good.
Unlike the not so mighty Teitur, Ane positively breathes emotion. Her delivery is honest, expressive and provides a feeling of intimacy that is so rarely achieved by the average musician. In a space like this, you almost feel like you’ve stumbled into some private performance for friends or family, a performance so magical it’s not quite meant for you to hear.
Despite being totally new to her music, something about each song she plays feels strangely familiar to me. With inflections drawing on blues and country, ‘sighing’ vocals and open tunings, her music feels very human, very understandable. In My Lover Will Go for instance the talented ‘Diamonds’ provide strong, rootsy harmonies that escalate to an undeniable level of emotion that we each can relate to. It’s hard not to be moved by music like this.
What’s so fascinating though is the suggested simplicity of what she does; her guitar style seemingly effortless, repetitive even. Yet as each phrase and vocal line unfolds and interacts, we discover some hidden complexity and unpredictability, whether musical or lyrical, that keeps us constantly engaged and wanting more.
Having modestly bowed and left the stage as the piano continues to play on the enchanting Don’t Leave, Ane is swiftly ushered back onto the stage for an encore which ends with an a capella ‘humming’ on The Fall from the entire audience. This is followed by a sort of satisfied, communal sigh and a standing ovation.
I don’t think she told me to buy her album once in the entire set.
I went home and bought four.