Alessi's Ark at the Camden Barfly

Alessi's Ark

Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou

Stealing Sheep

Camden Barfly, 24 August 2011

I can't help but feel a swell of pride over Alessi. Since I first discovered her three years ago when she was just 18 I've seen her play numerous shows, release two excellent albums and grow immeasurably as an artist and performer. It's bewildering to me that she hasn't graduated to playing bigger venues than this, the tiny Camden Barfly where I've seen many a friend's band play, but the place is admittedly filled to the brim with barely room to move so hopefully that's a positive sign that her whimsical and enchanting style of folk pop is catching on a little.

It's actually been a year since I last saw Alessi perform. The last time was in a record store performance when I interviewed her about her then new EP, Soul Proprietor, her first for the much better suited label Bella Union. Earlier this year she followed it up with her sophomore album, Time Travel, a less epicly produced affair than her superb debut, but still filled with catchy and unique pop and Alessi's endearing, breathy girlish vocals. Our little Alessi is growing up, sob. I was keen to hear these new songs live and on that count she certainly didn't disappoint as the show was filled with the best the album has to offer.

Unlike many of the other times I've seen Alessi though, now she has a proper, four-piece backing band comprised of a keyboard player, guitarist, bassist and drummer. It makes sense because on record for the most part she's always had a fuller sound so I can understand the thinking behind bringing in a band for her concerts to replicate that and even rock up some numbers. But I have to say, as much as I love Alessi, I don't know if this was the greatest choice. Part of Alessi's charm live is her awkwardness and the intimacy of her voice and the guitar. Her expressions and emotion as she pronounces every word with such feeling, is a rare and beautiful thing. It may sound like a cliched thing but with Alessi it really isn't, all her performances this way have been such unique experiences. The problem is with a loud band backing her a lot of these special, unique nuances are lost and worst of all her voice is kind of drowned out in the mix. Don't get me wrong, the songs still sound good but Alessi's voice is a huge part of her special appeal and to hear it lost under the noise of the drums and guitars is somewhat disappointing.

This is especially evident when the band leaves the stage for a couple of couple of songs, leaving Alessi alone to perform acoustically the rare track Witch and (after giving the audience the choice between a few different songs) one of the new album's best songs Stalemate, allowing us to finally hear her voice and see her sweetly, awkward personality. It was by far the best moment of the night.

But I don't want to give the impression that this was a terrible gig, far from it in fact, it was an enjoyable show for sure and Alessi looked lovely in her long, floral dress, it was just not one of the best Alessi concerts I've seen. But there were some good moments with her band (which she herself dubs "The Ark"), the best of these being her superb cover of Lesley Gore's Maybe I Know and the epicly building Glendora, maybe one of her best ever songs, which ended with beautifully feedback-filled guitar and Alessi's chanting lyrics. I hope she goes down a storm when she supports Laura Marling in the States later this year, she certainly deserves it.

There were also two interesting support acts the best being the opening band Stealing Sheep. Comprised of what I can only call three younger, smaller Alessi-alikes, wearing 70s Gunne Sax-style prairie dresses, they performed a kind of rhythmic, chant-filled folk music similar to Peggy Sue. Some of it sounded like sketches rather than fully formed songs but there were a few truly inspired and atmospheric moments that belied their short and seemingly simple songs. They are definitely worth keeping an eye on.

More professional but probably not quite as entertaining were husband and wife folk-singing duo Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou. Both playing acoustic guitars and sharing a microphone, meaning they had to lean in close to each other the whole set in a rather uncomfortable-looking way, they traded off harmonies like a more modern Richard & Linda Thompson, who I'm sure are their role models. Their voices definitely sound good together and their songs have an old-timey rural charm but with a more modern lyrical perspective. They seemed an unusual act on this bill but there were clearly a few dedicated fans in the audience who knew every word and I sometimes forget we are now living in post-Mumford & Sons times when a flat-cap and a banjo is NME material. Strangely enough, even though they certainly didn't look it, Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou might even be cool in 2011. Who'd have thought it.