“This gun’s for hire,” she sang at the very end of her stunning performance. Perhaps her tenth and latest album Crown Electric and, more specifically, the Radio 2-featured single Heart Shaped Stone will give Kathryn Williams the break she craves.
Most of the 75-minute set comprised songs from the new album which “the small but perfectly formed crowd” (her words) embraced with the same warmth that the lady herself shares with her audience.
At the heart of everything is Williams’ very special vocal – simple, effortless, technically perfect, and so expressive in its vulnerability.
Her acoustic band cushioned the songs gently on their journey. When Williams put down her guitar she cast an even deeper spell. Little Dark Numbers, with it’s looped vocal, was outstanding.
A good vocalist can give a familiar song new meaning, and Williams did just that with her encore of Springsteen’s Dancing In The Dark.
But not for a moment must the quality of her own songwriting be forgotten. Crown Electric is full of finely crafted lyrics and delicate melodies.
On the night Williams showed she has the spark to start a fire without changing anything.
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