The audience tonight in The Captain’s Rest provide something of a philosophical problem - either the venue is half full or its half empty. This depends on your point of view of course, but the intimacy this allows and the feeling of exclusiveness to those of us hidden away below ground make this something of a privilege.
A highlight for us at Glastonbury this year, far too few people will know the name of Blue Roses, or indeed Laura Groves, the diminutive Shipley lass and pixie like singer to whom the moniker refers. Released on XL Records her debut album of the same name fits neatly into the bracket whereby critical acclaim and public profile mismatch. Indeed other rokbun favourites Wild Beasts are already singing about ‘Girls from Shipley’. Yet to see her in the flesh is something very different and with a violin player and a sparsely used drummer a simple setup focuses all attention on the vocal talents of Ms Groves.
And boy are they special. Shuffling nervously towards the piano, and endearingly managing a barely audible hello, she sings and the hairs on the back of our collective necks stand rigidly to attention. Comparisons to Kate Bush or Joanna Newsom provide a ballpark but do an injustice. The lyrical, folksy, ‘I am Leaving‘ is the perfect example as Groves vocals rise and fall like a swelling tide and something in those soaring high notes is utterly compelling.
Every song is beautifully measured and striking in simplicity, something never more potent than when she performs solo. The opening portions of ‘Rebecca‘ are spellbinding and the venue hangs on her every word. Whilst the album is played in full this is less a recital and more a live interpretation in the best sense. Without the ability to create the sense of a choir of Blue Roses singing at any one time we have two voices and a violin, the deficit of big production filled with delicate exchanges and a wonderfully personal feel.
The night ends with ‘Moments Before Sleep‘, the most idiosyncratic of the songs of the lot. The voice is as high and prominent as ever but a bed of synths and thick strikes from the bass drum give an altogether more expansive and anthemic feel. So a perfect set, a perfect voice and a singer that everyone falls instantly in love with. What more can you ask for?
Pics: Bart Photography
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