There was an expectant hush on 22 January 2016, when a packed audience awaited the first (as far as I am aware) appearance in London of John Moreland, in support of Jason Isbell. Unusual, too, because generally an auditorium tends not to be full when the support act appears, but such was the reputation gained by Moreland over the previous couple of years following the release of his major label debut album “In the Throes” in 2013 and its follow up “High on Tulsa Heat” in 2015, that expectation levels were high, especially as I am guessing that not many in the audience knew what he looked like, only what he sounded like. Photographs of him tended not to have appeared on his album covers (and have not done so since). Apparently he has a reluctance to being seen and his stage appearances depict a man of “vulnerable disposition’ (his own description).
So the auditorium lights went down, and the spotlight rested on a large, somewhat lonely-looking figure sitting on a simple chair with just his guitar, a long way from his earlier band days of full-on rock. And he went straight into ‘Hang Me in the Tulsa County Stars‘, from the then lastest album. His guitar playing was powerful, almost as much as his voice, a gruff instrument full of depth and emotion (not unlike early Steve Earle who he names as a major influence), perfectly fitting for his songs, many of which are about lost or unrequited love. But interestingly only two songs came from the later album, the balance from “In the Throes”, an album of largely acoustic guitar-driven songs, significantly different in approach to tracks from the band albums that went before (I subsequently discovered). He hardly said a word, but every song was greeted as if he were already a star, such was the impact. On “In the Throes”, two tracks stood out for this writer, the first (‘Nobody Gives a Damn about Songs Anymore’) being a polemic about how songs should matter in the midst of an industry where to a large extent they don’t. The second is one of the most heartbreaking songs of unrequited love ever written, the beautiful ‘Break My Heart Sweetly’, guaranteed, one might think, to make grown men cry. He knows the love he craves will not happen, all he asks is that he is let down gently, without specifying how that could be achieved. One’s suspicion is that a very great number of people could relate to the sentiment, if only they could hear it expressed so emotionally – the song matters. “I swore the days were over / Of courting empty dreams / I worshipped at the altar / Of losing everything” are the opening lines and another verse states “You had a halo made of diamonds / Resting on your head / I should be dealing with my demons / But I’m dodging them instead”. But the killer lump in your throat moment comes in the stunning chorus: “There’s a scar in my soul / So let me down easy / Break my heart sweetly / Like you always do / I guess I can’t let go / Til you wreck me completely / Break my heart sweetly / Drape me in blue”.
The remarkable thing about Moreland is that he can sound just as emotive on record as he does live. As can be demonstrated by his recorded version of the song. A truly gorgeous five minutes or so of your time – take your pick, live or recorded.
