Live Review

CocknBullKid – Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow

• 2nd Nov 2010

Anita Blay, otherwise known as CocknBullKid (note, not “the” and no apostrophes) played a decent, if short, set in Glasgow last night. Supporting Marina and the Diamonds was never going to be easy, but she entertained a large crowd in one of the city’s more picturesque venues.

The three members of the backing band took to the stage as the house lights went down and started to play. A voice came from somewhere, a strong and melodic voice, before Blay appeared mid song. An unusual entrance perhaps, but an effective one.

Blay has an expressive style and really shows the emotion of her lyrics, mic clapsed tight or arms outstretched to emphasise her vocals. She is a confident performer, using all of the wide stage as she played to the crowd on both sides.

CocknBullKid’s debut album, Adulthood, will be released early in 2011, and the word has been that it will be closer to mainstream pop than some of her earlier electro orientated work.

This was demonstrated with the first single, One Eye Closed, which will be released next week. Lyrically it is fairly simple, but it has a fine melody and is basically a good pop song of the type that should find its way into the charts.

Blay has some variety to her repertoire, though. Yellow was another catchy pop tune, but the excellent Hold On To Your Misery showed her vocal range, with its old style soul sounding chorus. And the track CocknBullKid was quite funky with a faster pace and a more deliberate vocal styling.

The set closer, I Deserve It, showcased Blay’s abilities very well, as she dominated the sound with a more powerful and dynamic delivery that showed just what she is capable of. She left the stage to an excellent reception.

CocknBullKid showed she has an effective pop sound that should result in a good reception for her debut album. But the range of vocal stylings she demonstrated in this short set showed that there is much more to her as a performer than just another pop singer.