Music / Amerciana
Review: Israel Nash, The Thekla
Not content with producing her last LP Dripping Springs, Israel Nash also invited Joana Serrat to support him on his European tour. For this show he also gave her a generous chunk of stage time, allowing her to perform getting on for a dozen tunes, taken from both her latest and the back catalogue. The Catalan native, armed only with her guitar and an unassuming yet engaging stage presence, charmed the crowd with her “foggy-folk-americana”. Defying the current zeitgeist, the crowd grew quieter as the set progressed, engaged with the tunes, listening in and rewarded Serrat with plentiful applause. In fact, so enraptured was one fella that he managed to balance a full pint on his head to give Serrat the plaudits he felt she deserved (albeit just for a jittery 20 seconds or so).
Serrat’s description of her music is certainly apt: the songs languorous & hazy; neither overtly folk or country but rather finding a woozy place in between – pretty picking, rich strumming and awash with reverb (mostly on the vocals); supplemented on occasion by triggered string-washes. She has a strong, versatile voice and was expressive too: at times melancholic but with the occasional sensual flourish contrasted with a sense of yearning and longing. The set was well paced with quieter tunes nestling amongst the more up-tempo numbers but alas no song titles announced to aid the first-time listener.
is needed now More than ever
As always, a solo set hinges on the strength of the material and Serrat certainly has a strong collection of tunes, a collection strong enough to warrant further investigation on record (er, on your favourite streaming platform for the young ‘uns) and a collection that would be worth hearing with a full band. The set lacked only that killer tune with a catchy hook or incessant chorus that would remain with the listener into the following morning, and nestle in the cortex until the next show or trigger a purchase of tunes.
Israel Nash hasn’t been in town for a while, a point he acknowledged from the stage whilst also lamenting the loss of The Tunnels (RIP) and was chuffed to see a pretty packed ship. Mind you it was three songs in to the set before we got our “Howdy” but those three tunes both presaged the set to come and delighted the crowd. Opener Lucky Ones, from latest release Lifted, rolled along in a fashion that managed to be kinda serious & stately but kinda uplifting & joyful at the same time. Warm, warm guitar over a groove-some rhythm section and decorated with keening pedal steel topped off with Nash’s heartfelt rasp. Oh, and a killer chorus.
Spirtfalls ploughed a similar furrow, but Nash’s vocals soared higher and his guitar was more to the fore, duelling with the pedal steel as the song peaked powerfully over rolling toms before the band crashed headlong in to the third new cut Sweet Springs. More of the same, in a really good way: you could hear the band rising to the task in hand; you could see their pleasure as the songs grew and the crowd reacted with applause, singing along; you could hear the players hitting their groove note by note, chorus by chorus.
Nash and his band found a truly sweet pocket thereafter, a less-is-more performance with the players totally in tune with the material. Their sound managed to take the tropes of Americana and traditional country and blend them into a delightfully cosmic melange. Song structures reminiscent of Neil Young (and indeed, some of Nash’s vocals brought Shakey to mind too); a rhythm section that grooved with power and precision, always in the pocket and adding subtle flourishes, but the band’s secret weapon was Eric Swanson’s pedal steel. Rather than just adding colour Swanson played what was effectively lead guitar on plenty of tunes: swooping & swooning but biting at times, his playing was exemplary: packed with honesty, it oozed sincerity.
After a powerful Mansions (bursting with crescendos) the rhythm section withdrew leaving Swanson & Nash to slow the pace down but maintain the power. Baltimore, augmented by heart-warming harmonica, recalled Gram Parsons, whilst Goodbye Ghost (shorn of its dense instrumentation on the recorded version) was arguably Nash’s finest vocal performance of the night, matched by Swanson’s keenest licks.
Bass & Drums (aka Eric & Jordan) back in place it was a four-song cavalcade of cosmic country rock to conclude the set. Nash may have “File under hippie spiritual” on the cover of Lifted, but in truth there’s strength to his songs that belies the received perception of hippie [sic] musical sensibilities. This set was powerful, uplifting, strong and yeah, a full-on spiritual experience. The extended versions of choice songs served the tunes themselves rather than providing opportunities for grandstanding, both crowd and band were left grinning and sated at the end of the set.
Joana Serrat returned acoustic in hand for an encore, a cover that bamboozled the audience until the first chorus, for it was No Surprises twisted into a spooky Texan trip in to the desert. Serrat and Nash sparred on the vocals; the band swirling, taking the tune somewhere melancholic but bringing it back to the spiritual on the choruses. The final number was a celebratory Rolling On, a fittingly triumphant end to a marvellous set that left us both satisfied and yearning for more. Israel Nash writes killer songs that sound mighty fine on records, live they’re elevated into something special that you need to see for yourselves. See you down the front next time he’s in town.
Israel Nash: Thekla: Monday, 28 January 2019
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
