Eliza Carthy might be the headliner but judging by the crowd’s response and their departure mid way through her set, Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halo are clearly the band of the night. Musically the two can’t be further apart, Emily fusing low key harmonies over sweeping strings and a quiet presence, whilst Eliza is fuelled by up tempo rhythms and anecdotal stories.
Whether it’s opener Billowing Sea or Wallander theme tune Nostalgia, Emily and her band combine heartfelt emotion with rousing melodies, transporting you off to another world. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the...
Photos of Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo at The Lexington, London on 27th February 2012. Taken by Jo Cox – www.jocoxphotography.co.uk
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There are some people who seem to relish breaking the rules. Like the man who stands front centre stage refusing to sit, despite the fact that the rest of the Jericho Tavern have taken to the floor. Or Emily Barker, who informs us the singers scale is ‘do-re-me-me-me-me’ and is nevertheless overwhelmingly humble on stage. Yet simultaneously Emily and The Red Clay Halo carry a delicate weight, each song bringing its own sense of time and space through the subtlety of the arrangements.
Nostalgia is transformed from the recorded version, to bring with it something of a whisper, as if...
