LIVE REVIEW: SORREL NATION - BROOKE LAW - HALF MOON - PUTNEY

It was a little over a year when we first saw two of tonight's performers play on exactly this stage in Sorrel Nation and Kat Abel. The intervening fourteen months have seen Sorrel go from strength to strength, a live solo EP, followed by the excellent album "Lost En Route" for which tonight will be a celebration of its release on vinyl.

First up though it would be a fabulous chance to catch up with Brooke Law, who we have not seen play solo for a while now, making her debut at the legendary Half Moon. It's only when you occasionally take a step back and not see someone for a while that you once again know why you started to like them in the first place and begin to notice just how far they have progressed. The first thing that immediately struck #TEAMw21 is how much better suited Brooke seemed on a bigger stage, A natural talent. with enough material to easily cover a set twice as long, this evening would mainly focus on her recent and yet to be released material.

Opening with "Villain" her last single, Brooke's guitar playing seemed more confident and her ability to move from subtle to raw power remained undiminished. The one ever present song from her catalogue remains "Millionaires", the mixture of urban realism and giddy optimism matched to a jaunty tune remains undeniably catchy subliminally slipping through quite bleak verses. Another song that showed the result of Brooke's near constant gigging over the last few months was "Flying Solo".

Maybe it was the sound, which was wonderful all evening, however it seemed to be played and therefore delivered fractionally slower,, making the lyrics much clearer and revealing the contents within. The chorus would see Brooke tilt he head back away from the microphone, as she would then power out the chorus.

Brooke's new single out that very day "Big World", sounded possibly even stronger in person, the restrained vocals on the verses beautiful and stirring, the playing and singing on the chorus exemplary as Brooke worked her way through the vocal gears. It looks set to be the centrepiece of future sets for some time. A run through some of last years singles would see "Gypsy Woman" opening in a most strident fashion with Brooke really thrashing her acoustic and sounding at her sultriest while "Real" about the perils of AI intervention in day to day life

Another major support in Brooke's live set is "We All Need Saving", it was the first song that made #TEAMw21 sit up and pay attention, and years on it retains that power. The set would close with another of last years singles "Help Me" while the familiar crowd participation on "Boomerang" would close out a most compelling start to the evening.

Brooke may have been solo on the Half Moon stage however Sorrel and her band would seek to fill every available inch of it with the rarely seen combination of stand up bass and sit down cello, mixing with an accordion and a guitarist, a drummer at the back and of course Sorrel herself to make the most warm and comforting sound throughout the evening. Sorrel even when just speaking has a soothing tone to her voice, and her tales of travelling the country in her van, with Theo and her rescue dog seems an idyll we all quietly aspire to.

The set would start with just Sorrel and her guitar,with the band exploding into life at the end of the first verse as Sorrel's vocals started to soar off onto another level entirely.

The mood would then alter with the jaunty opening into "Old Man", the chorus with the heartening sound of four vocals and the key contributions from Ri Baroche on piano and Sam Anderson on guitar made this version even warmer and more vivid than the laid back recorded version.

The pace immediately picked up with "Trouble Again" which would see Kat providing backing vocals while expressing herself via the medium of dance. The keys and guitar seemed to play simultaneous solos at one point - which we know makes no sense but it sounded great nonetheless!

"Living Free" was delightfully cello heavy and at times Sorrel and Kat just seemed to close eyes and get lost in the moment enjoying the playing of the band. It was something that at various stages most members of the band would do, really soaking in the playing of their fellow band mates.

The first cover of the evening would materialise with "North Country" from Gillian Welch. This was a magnificent soundscape created by the band and Sorrel and the various backing vocalists were divine. This was a dedicated to Tom, a band member taken tragically early and was a fitting tribute indeed.

Sorrel would duly raise the temperatures with "Crazy For You" acknowledging its somewhat steamy content!

Sharing the instrumental limelight, "Eggshells" would bring the accordion to the fore, to great effect, it would also see a crowd singalong. A matching of serious adult lyrics powerfully conveyed by Sorrel with a perfect harmonious backing, this was excellent stuff.

There was a certain dreamy effect to "Wild Solitude", with the hypnotic vocals and most gentle of playing. A cover from the album was the immortal "Who Knows Where The Time Goes", a definite timeless classic and therefore difficult to breathe new life into,yet tonight's version flowed and sounded as fresh as ever.

The albums title track "Lost En Route", with it's chorus bursting into life with "It's Not My Problem" was another of the songs where band members would become transfixed in admiration of each other. A powerful combination of percussion and electric guitar would be both sublime as well as adding some volume to the evening!

The guitar into onto "The Way The Wind Blows" will gently lead us into melodic pastures, the whole song perfectly topped off by little piano flourishes that lift this already great song to another level. If the evening was perhaps more folky based, the main set closing song "Dead Man's Road" headed off in a most Americana direction, potentially offering future opportunities should Sorrel ever wish to head there - the band producing an authentic swampy deep South atmosphere.

A final song of the evening would materialise in a cracking cover of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit", for which Kat and Sorrel would create a sense of occasion just with some preliminary "ooh"ing.

It would turn into an all out ever building aural attack on our senses and would be a splendid way to send us off.

Sorrel Nation will return to London in November at The Water Rats

Lost En Route is avaiable on CD, Vinyl including a ltd edition Orange Version

Brooke Law will be performing at Country Calling and across the land at more establishments than we can list - catch her when you can - Her excellent new single "Big World" is out now