Live Review

Heavenly Recordings Presents… – The Shipping Forecast, Liverpool

• 23rd Feb 2011

A cosy little venue underneath a newly refurbished bar next door to the Jacaranda, this was the ideal place for a night of chilled acoustic action.

First up was singer/guitarist James Walbourne, accompanying him a cellist and another guitarist-come-washboard player. I got the hint of what he was going to provide us with, and I wasn’t wrong. His soulful voice with a hint of anger grabbed me first, with the cello adding to the atmosphere and mood. This was old-fashioned basic no-nonsense song writing busker performing, but this time with meaningful numbers, complimented by his strong literate voice. You got the feeling you were on a village green in the summer sipping cider with The Hill, title track to his new album (out now). These were songs of stories, reflecting on maybe personal experiences Walbourne had had, and also what he had seen, but he certainly painted them all well in his talented writing. He showed he could change tact by playing Northern Lights, what could only be described as Irish folk. Then he showed his versatility, hard to do on just acoustic guitars but he managed it. The picturesque Songbird followed then the washboard and mandolin pictured him in a cramped living room in the 1950’s playing skiffle to his relatives in an upbeat number about working class blues. The instruments and his voice all fit together and complimented each other perfectly. The guitar licks were just right, and at the right time, and he played with energy and feeling that transpired to the crowd easily. Pogues-esque is too obvious a description, but that’s what Walbourne reminds me of, although I must stress he has put his own fingerprints on this genre now with the honesty of his songs and performance. He proved his diversity and played each type of acoustic guitar song known. A must see, I hope he has more success. I’ll definitely buy his album.
James Walbourne’s album The Hill is out now.

Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou performed next, an acoustic male and female duo. They appeared a bit quiet and shy in their stage presence but were completely the opposite in their music, especially in their vocals. They both sang nearly every word and played every note in perfect harmony to each other, each voice complimenting the other beautifully throughout the entire set. Again they were ‘picturesque’ in reminding me of travelling through country roads for hours on end. The harmonica at times added to the chilled atmosphere whilst they performed care-free acoustic songs about love, happiness and freedom. What’s wrong with that? They left a smile on my face. They easily showed their meaning, soul and passion in their melodies to their own blissful folk music.

Their self-titled album Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou is out now.

Sea Of Bees finished the night, and by the mood the previous two acts had put us in, this one took us a bit by surprise. The musical project of Julie Ann Bee from Sacramento USA, she looked pretty cool, like she was from 1960’s Beatles mania. She pictured each scenario of each song as she played it and could have convinced us we were at the opera at times with her dramatic vocal delivery and movements to each lyric.

However her blatant vivid imagination and passion was not shared by the crowd. The song structure initially was simple but far from effective, but this improved throughout the set. I appreciated her attempts to try for a new take on folk. She became more uplifting, even heavier at times, but despite her diversity, she failed to impress everyone. However I must credit her originality in such unique music and her upbeat banter throughout the set. Also to perform their songs with this high level of passion every night is impressive. Her album will be interesting, that’s for sure.

Songs For The Ravens is out now

All albums are obviously released on the Heavenly recordings label.