The Elizabeth Line finally delivered some value for money tonight, getting this reviewer across town to the iconic 100 Club for Hannah White’s album launch gig for “Fine Day” on the day of its release. Unfortunately, it was just too late to catch Michele Stodart’s support set. White and her partner in every dimension, Kieron Marshall, had just returned from Nashville and only rehearsed on the day of the show with a trio of musicians, two of whom had flown in from Norway. On top of that, she explained they had, until this night, only played the songs in the studio.
After nods to key players in the Music Venues Trust and her record company (Last), we were off. The distinctive rhythm of the New Orleans standard ‘Iko Iko’ filled the room, and in no time, White and band had the audience dancing and singing along. Then it was time for the main event as White and the band opened with the album’s lead-out song ‘Good Questions’ which featured some nice guitar from Marshall as White posed the broad-ranging titular questions in her lyrics. ‘Hard Hitting Memories’ starts soulfully. White has introduced it as being a song about losing someone. The ensemble voices in the chorus retain the soulfulness while also delivering a lot of power with it. The next song, White tells us, is about someone who appears to be what they’re not. ‘Man Out There’ is rockier and has some powerful guitar work. White dedicates ‘Hyla Karula’ to Geraint Watkins, who described his French language songs to her as being basically made-up sounds. White’s mini tribute has a raucous folk feel about it and has a touch of Allison Russell in her more percussive moments.
‘Camberwell’ is dedicated to White’s sister, and its butterfly metaphors are illustrated by an enthusiastic description of the carnivorous purple emperor. It has a sing-along chorus with which some of the audience – likely the South London portion – join in. The following song, ‘What Do You Take Me For’, opens with unaccompanied vocals and is noticeably softer than what has gone before. Given its subject matter is about being low, this is hardly surprising. Another story from White, this time about Marshall’s growing up in a tough South London environment, precedes ‘Glory Overcome’ and is dedicated to her husband.
The album’s title song follows. Written about the loss of Marshall’s mother, who died too young at 52, the song is another with a soulful feel, this time emphasised by the sweep of the organ, recalling many classic sounds. Next, Marshall picks up the banjo, and he and White engage in a period of tuning almost long enough to qualify for inclusion on the set list. Instead, it leads into ‘Maybe One Day’ with its vocal describing life’s regrets. The band is joined by violinist Antonio Terrisi for the album closer ‘All This Unnecessary Beauty’. White’s views on the contemporary beauty industry are laid out pretty clearly. The song begins with an electric piano prominent in the mix, but by the end, it has been taken over by the organ. Terrisi’s violin playing is both melodic and rueful.
Having played the new album right the way through, mirroring the experience of taking a new record home for the first time, White and band commence a short set of older tunes. First up is ‘Kitchen’, one of the 12 singles released under their recent song-a-month project. It has a New Orleans beat to it, which brings us full circle to the start of the night. They roll into ‘Right On Time’ with its semi-homage to George Harrison and rich Sixties pop style harmonies in the chorus, which has the audience singing along once more. And with hardly a break, they’re into ‘The Good Stuff’ which features a cracking solo from Marshall and plenty of repeated choruses to bring the set to a close. They’re out of time according to White, but in the spirit of the night and with the clear assent of the crowd, they play one more. White says they haven’t played ‘You Don’t Want Me Any More’ for a while, but it’s good to hear her take on the shark pool of the music industry again.
It’s been a fun night, and a great album launch from one of the British americana scene’s leading talents.
