Clwb Ifor Bach, Thurs 11 Aug
words: LLOYD GRIFFITHS
★★★★☆
Perhaps it’s the languidity of the soul being piped throughout the upper floor which may have been better suited to original venue The Globe’s cosy claustrophobia or the disappointing lack of support bands, but by the time Alice Russell & band greet the crowd, I have to admit to being somewhat restless and more demanding of an immediately captivating performance than usual. I’ve always found artists of the Tru Thoughts and modern soul ilk either instantly and singularly purposeful (Quantic) or occasionally I feel some can tip the fine balance into slight self-indulgence (Mr Scruff, godbless you nonetheless, but I don’t want any more of your tea). That seems even more a danger when Cardiff crowds are amongst the friendliest and most forgiving around. However, Alice Russell is almost instant in sweeping away these preoccupations, her warmly expectant posture demanding attention and lest we not forget the most stunning instrument on stage – her Simone-esque voice, which is sultry and sensual and somehow manages to throw in subtlety for good measure in spite of its ability to blow one’s socks firmly off.
Russell is surprisingly unprotective of her back catalogue in terms of both experimentation and song order – throwing in the Scruff collaboration Music Takes Me Up just two songs into the set; a tune with which I amongst many other students first encountered her ability to adorn any music with not only a classy glean but also a genuine warmth. Much of the set is similarly uplifting jazz and funk – riffed on superbly by the backing band, particularly the use of the violin as an on-the-cuff ukulele, adding a stringed texture which flourishes rather than distracts from the slower stripped down tracks such as Someday. The experimentation turns out to be welcome, as it keeps the crowd on its toes, and the continuous shifting of genre prevents what would be understandable mouth-on-floor gawping at Russell’s voice. At times it does threaten to overcome the surrounding music, but moments like this are flickering pauses in the mind of the audience, who find any number of hooks back into the occasion; notably my personal favourite, the latin-infused Humankind, which is wantonly sensuous with its refrain “Can you tug my hair and slap my behind/I’m a whole lot of woman I want to recline”; embellished with a rapturous violin part.
The set is a fine antidote to the so called experimental self-mastubatory kookiness which masquerades as something more interesting at many world music inclined festivals. It’s also far from merely being about her stunning voice, thanks to the enthused backing from collaborator TM Juke and the Rest of Alice’s band, but it would pay the gig a disservice if you weren’t to say that Russell has one of the most entracingly powerful live voices around, managing to not only turn her hand to, but make her own a host of genres. And for the world of funk, soul, jazz and erm world music, this can be no bad thing.