Corinne Bailey Rae performs a sparkling return to the limelight armed with a new band and intriguing new songs.
Corinne Bailey Rae started off her career in humble pop beginnings a whole 10 years ago, second album The Sea was released in 2010 inspired by the tragic passing of her husband which birthed a set of immaculately crafted songs and gained widespread acclaim. After a huge gap of six and a half years Rae is back with less fractured happenings surrounding her – she’s married to keyboardist and producer Steve Brown, has been writing in a number of projects for TV shows and other artists and has a brand new album in the pipeline called The Heart Speaks In Whispers.
Emerging from behind the crush velvet curtains, it’s clear her six year hiatus hasn’t impacted any of her confidence which is probably helped by a roaring and supportive crowd. The Tabernacle is a rite of passage on each album cycle for Rae which is usually home to her first gig back, “after all this time it’s great to be back and it’s good to see you” she smirks.
From the off its clear that her new found optimism has been whirred into the cogs of her new project, as apparent on opener and lead single ‘I’ve Been To The Moon’. It’s fuelled with chirping and off-kilter space-age synths which are all pulled together by Rae’s gravitational vocal whilst she carves a mid-orbit love tale. Next up is the sensual ‘Closer’ which sees the lush instrumentals being held up by a tight snaking groove at its core, Rae declares it an ode to the intimate proximity of the venue.
The set is mainly plumped out with new songs, Rae premieres album cut ‘Tell Me’ which goes down incredibly well with the crowd, it features a chugging organ and a rapid rhythm section which throws Rae down a new dimension entirely. ‘Green Aphrodisiac’ shows the flipside of the coin – it’s a slow-jam with neo-soul tendencies (Frank Ocean leaps to mind) benefitting from the class musicianship who back her up tonight. “What do you think of my new band?” she asks at one point to a storming response. They have certainly helped define Rae’s sonic transformation, pulling off exceptional rhythm and backing vocals simultaneously - it’s classic Corinne Bailey Rae but with a cosmic twist.
The hit single ‘Put Your Records On’ is their ace in the pack riddled with hooks and earworms which still ring in the public conscience ten years on. Newbie ‘Stop Where You Are’ is a little too middle of the road peppered with arena-destined ‘woahs’ in the chorus and fails to match the intrigue of the other new material premiered tonight. Rae stops frequently before songs to project her teachings of optimism but takes a moment to reflect on the happenings surrounding The Sea – “it’s a very important record to me and came out of a massive fracture in my life”. Rae then begins the heart-breaking ‘Are You Here’ which still retains the ghosts of that pain which surface in her incredibly emotional vocal.
The main set is capped off with the song which is set to open her new LP entitled ‘The Skies Will Break’ which is possibly Rae’s most upbeat tune. It features a strong bass drum undercurrent which shoots the song along with an accompanying charged guitar line, it shows off its metamorphic qualities – it breaks off into a sparkly enchanting mid-section before catching second wind with a poppy singalong outro.
With a set that barely scratches an hour it would have been great to hear some more material from The Sea, however the direct nature of the new songs make up for the absence. In the fast-moving internet age artists can easily slip right out of sight after 6 years away, however the timelessness and charisma of Rae keeps her firmly afloat every time.
She played:
‘Been to the Moon’
‘Closer’
‘Till It Happens To You’
‘Tell Me’
‘Green Aphrodisiac’
‘Put Your Records On’
‘Hey, I Won't Break Your Heart’
‘Stop Where You Are’
‘Are You Here’
‘The Skies Will Break’
‘Like a Star’
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