Marcus Whale certainly knows how to make serious music. The polarity of his searching, coiling vocals painted onto muscular lo-fi beats is one that colours a very spiritual, if a little grey, canvas. Difficult to hold onto at times, but no less intriguing, his showcase of debut album Inland Sea steadily absorbs the early evening punters.
“There was a time when I thought Birmingham to Glasgow was far – this is far!” says headliner Laura Mvula. It’s fair to say she’s ecstatic to be in town for her first Sydney show, proudly conquering her fear of flying in the process. The feeling among the now almost full Metro Theatre is more than mutual.
The seven-piece band, complete with brother and sister pair James and Dionne Douglas (cello and guitar, respectively) take their positions before playing Mvula in under a blinding assault of bleach strobe lighting. Mvula revels in the limelight, and when the band’s intro draws to a close she’s marked firmly centre stage, white keytar slung over shoulder, ready for combat – albeit very flamboyant combat.
The soulful, almost tribal call to arms of ‘Overcome’ backs onto the body-moving ‘Let Me Fall’, of which the repeated phrase “no looking back when hope is pushing forwards” seals the room’s warm sense of reflection and unity.
The audience soon trades its dancing shoes when the charismatic, admirably candid Mvula slips down a couple of gears with ‘Flying Without You’. She enlists the crowd to sing out on the extended coda, only to tease them to “finish whenever you like”. It’s a remarkably cathartic moment on both sides of the barrier and one that sums up the night’s ‘happy tears’ tone.
Humour is an intrinsic device in the show’s success, not least because Mvula is genuinely funny – highlights include lamenting over her ironing board-like keytar, sibling band members not getting paid on time and her mum’s renewed sense of hope following Prince Harry getting a black girlfriend – but more importantly it releases the emotional pressure valve, bringing everyone, herself included, repeatedly back to a state of reset in the wake of her music’s emotional intensity.
Stylistically, Mvula carves a classical soul-pop sound that defies absolute definition. Whether it’s the sunny beams of ‘Green Garden’ or the sullen ‘Sing To The Moon’, her viscerality fuels her strongest moments – and there are plenty, all adding up to a very reflective yet present experience.
Laura Mvula was reviewed at the Metro Theatre on Wednesday April 12.
