One of the curios of C2C 2023 was the strange affair of Emma & Jolie, a duo with a number of promising singles behind them. Having gone their separate ways they now found themselves in the same building playing as solo acts and to add a little salt in the wound, the C2C app although listing them as solo artists only had a picture of each of them as a duo.
Anyone expecting a little spice would have been sadly disappointed both girls choosing to say something along the lines of "I was in a duo, now i'm not" - no bitterness and no rancour from either party.
Jolie Harvey as a solo act seems miles away from her previous incarnation - now dark haired she had a range of material that touched on a range of subjects not always covered in your average pop song. For this set she was to be joined by a guitarist who gave more of an ethereal backing of a guitar sound which put all the emphasis on Jolie's vocals to try and discern what the actual tune was but it was a challenge she really rose to.
It is fair to say that I can't recall any other artists at C2C opening with a Zombie related love song, apparently possibly brought on by watching to much of "the Last Of Us" - it may have had the lines
"Let the acid rain fall down
Watch the Zombies run circles around this town" yet it was actually almost hypnotic and who could not enjoy the line
"I'm glad I'm in the Apcalypse" with you
The next song "Perfect" as in "You are Perfect to me" saw Jolie spend much of the time eyes closed, right hand holding the microphone, as her left hand provided additional emphasis, while "Loud and Clear" went to the other end of the love spectrum being about someone who didn't want to be with her anymore
"You leave the room without saying goodbye" being one of the telling lines.
It was from here on in that things got really interesting as Jolie started going into areas #TEAMw21 can't recall ever being adressed in a song before such as writing about agoraphobia. There is a lot of noise in the area of mental health at the moment and so potentially this was a dangerous subject to go near but "Beautiful" was both wonderfully written and delivered with real heart, that you really understood the feelings Jolie must have gone through to write this.
"They say "You're beautiful" - got the world at your feet
They don't know what I need"
A slowed down version of "Jolene" followed - included as it is the name she is forever being mistakenly called.
One final song closed the set, a tune over 7 years old, "Blood In My Skin" about a dramatic break up, was a kind of downbeat pop song, yet with Jolie static as she sang - you found yourself hanging on every word.
It was a long way from her previous incarnation but there were plenty of good things displayed in that performance that will surprise many and it will be interesting to see if Jolie can pull it altogether into a cohesive recording or two.