You may have seen her supporting Bombay Bicycle Club earlier in the year, but last Monday it was all about her and the launch of her sparkling debut Is Your Love Big Enough? Clearly beaming throughout the show, this 22 year old singer & songwriter from London had every reason to celebrate, as news surfaced she had already reached no.4 in the UK charts.
If you haven’t yet been acquainted with her ‘sound’, it is willfully difficult to categorise; flowing from layered harmonies, bare ballads, to pounding beats bursting out, the record also bleeds influences by soul divas Lauryn Hill and Jill Scott.
As she steps out on stage, the first thing that smacks you in the face is how ridiculously great her vocals are. Like velvet smothered in butter, then drenched in silk; she makes The Little Mermaid sound like a berserk sea-lion. The vocal acrobats remain astoundingly flawless throughout, which is a rare skill when playing live. (yeah, we are talking Whitney Houston good). THEN you combine that with the fact she’s demonstrating herself as a skilled musician, playing the guitar for the majority of the set. Its a deadly, heart-and-mind seizing combination.
Adding to her charm as a live act she is incredibly endearing and playful in between songs. Bantering to us like we were mates down the pub, she asks what we make of her dress, then reveals she is s.w.e.a.t.i.n.g, which ignites a chorus of wolf whistling to her mock disgust.
After the powerful tribal edge of Forget and the delicate Parisian romance of Au cinema I can comfortably say I was not the only one who fell deliriously hard for her. Really, I only just resisted flinging myself at her and clutching on to her fawn-like leg for dear life.
Prepare to see her soar.
