Archie Faulks – The Islington, London 03/03/20
I am too old for this gig. Literally. It’s my guess that most of the crowd here are barely out of school and I’m willing to bet the rest are getting up for first period maths in the morning. The Islington (aka PinUps) is the kind of dimly-lit velvet-draped bar venue in which I spent most of my twenties so, a couple of decades on that may explain why I’m mourning my years. I’m here to see Archie Faulks, whose rather fabulous EP Longing In London landed in the RGM inbox a few weeks ago. Support tonight comes from Knight and Cheshire-based singer songwriter Sophie Morgan.
Knight kicks off, armed only with an electric guitar which he picks with surprising delicacy before switching to stints on keys and acoustic guitar. His effortlessly soulful voice is instantly envy-inducing but as his set wears on I confess the songs begin to blur a little. Sophie Morgan’s performance, on the other hand is altogether more arresting. The waif-like 23 year-old takes us through several songs from her three EPs, the latest of which, Marmalade, is being promoted alongside her own homemade jars of the sticky amber goop. “It seemed like a good idea at the time but now I’m so sick of marmalade,” she jokes. Morgan struck it lucky after The Waterboys heard her cover of The Whole Of The Moon and decided to take her on their UK and European tour - she was 20. Morgan proves herself, thankfully, to be much more than a flash-in-the-pan covers artist with intimate, thoughtfully crafted songs like ‘Black Dog’, ‘Bar To Bar’ (co-written with Faulks) and the heart-stopping piano ballad ‘Always’.
A surge from the bar denotes Faulks’ arrival onstage. I look around and realise the venue is suddenly full. Gosh, and aren’t all you young people tall these days? I jostle for a good spot and hope that no-one offers this decrepit old man a nice cup of tea and a sit down. It seems I’m not quite at that stage yet - phew.
Archie Faulks’ demeanour is equal parts aloof rockstar-in-waiting and shambling, nervy sixth-former and, once I realise that neither elements are forced or fake, I start to relax and take the man and his music at face value. In a bold move, he opens with the hushed ‘Blackout’, taken from 2019’s Wonderful EP. Faulks’ deft guitar work and chocolate-rich voice puts me in mind of John Mayer, especially on tracks like ‘Willing To Learn’ which appears early in the set. His leaps into a steady falsetto are often but not overused and, as things progress, I’m relieved to discover that the songs are dynamic enough to work as well in the solo setting as they do in their lushly-produced recorded form.
Faulks admits, though, right after playing current single ‘What For’ that he does miss the drums kicking in. But having confessed he went solo (from his onetime band Tenterhook) because his bandmates were too attractive, I guess he only has himself to blame there. Band or none, ‘What For’ - if you haven’t heard it yet, go and do that now - deserves to be a huge hit and sits strong at the heart of the set.
Faulks reveals a love of 1940s American film as he introduces his love song to the sunshine state, ‘California Dreaming’. It’s a passion that’s picked up later in his brave cover of Jerome Kern’s ‘All The Things You Are’ and it’s at this point I start to realise the reason why Archie Faulks’ songs are so rooted in classic pop. By which I mean mid-century classic rather than 70s and 80s classic. At this point I also give a silent cheer to the idea that this here youngster is playing a song written before even I was born.
Rounding off with two more tracks from the Wonderful EP and the obvious crowd-pleaser ‘What I Like’, Archie Faulks leaves the stage to greet fans and I’m overwhelmed by a sense that all the smooth and exquisitely written music I’ve heard tonight would go down particularly well on BBC Radio 2. And, despite being older than everyone else here, surely I am the target market for this? Shouldn’t these whippersnappers all be off doing something more edgy? As I returned home to my cocoa and slippers it dawned on me that of course, it could be that timeless songwriting is just that - timeless - and it’s for all of us.
Review by Rich Barnard
Nick Lowe seemed genuinely surprised that so many folks had come out on a Tuesday night for the first show of his UK tour at the London Palladium. It was standing room only at the 2200+ capacity venue. This says much about the high esteem in which Nick Lowe is held as an artist and songwriter. From his early days in Brinsley Schwartz and late 70s solo chart success, Rockpile with Dave Edmunds and on through the critically acclaimed Brentford Trilogy of albums to his latest work with Los Straightjackets, Lowe has been a mainstay of British music for fifty years. Lowe is also well known for his production work in the 80s with the Stiff record label that included ‘New Rose’ for The Damned and a run of classic albums for Elvis Costello. I’m pleased to report that, even at 75, Lowe shows no signs of slowing down, and he looks to be enjoying keeping things fresh with Los Straitjackets.