Music / Reviews
Review: Katy J Pearson, Rough Trade – ‘Short, sweet, soul-stirring’
It seems like only yesterday when I discovered Katy J Pearson’s music. She was supporting This is the Kit as part of Bristol Sounds; I took note to see her again ASAP.
Now we were gathered to celebrate this special Bristol-based talent’s third album launch – even as Katy admitted her 15-year-old self could not have imagined producing one album, let alone three.
I’d been listening to the freshly-released new album Someday, Now all day; it kept me company walking, working, and cooking. I was very keen to see it performed in the flesh.
is needed now More than ever
Katy has been a constant in the local music scene now for a few years: it was good to see many familiar faces in Rough Trade tonight, not least huge fan Big Jeff who was in a very vocal mood, exchanging quips with Katy throughout.
Katy was celebrating the release of her third album, saying she was amazed she had produced even one, let alone three – photo: Mark Chesser
The room was hot as Katy took to stage with beaming smiles and new songs to sing. There was no setlist, just a rough guide of where to begin each song and, despite not knowing which musician should begin each number, as a three-piece the band delivered with delicate precision.
The set was stripped back and guitar-based, with Katy’s vocals soaring sweetly. Her voice is so effortlessly powerful, and the lyrics strike as more introspective – the kind that show someone has perhaps been through a difficult time.
Album opener Those Goodbyes is also introduced as “about having a shit time and trying to get through it!” to cheers of solidarity from the audience.
There’s tragedy, there’s grief, there’s hope. I hear it all in her voice, and in It’s Mine Now: “I’ll write it down, let it breathe, let the ink become my tears”; a beautiful lyric of catharsis in songwriting.
It feels like Katy is owning her sadness while finding positivity and solace in her music.
With the room temperature rising and Big Jeff’s body turning into a kettle (his words), the show ends with album closer Sky which just happens to be, she says, Katy’s favourite track from the new album.
The show was over before anyone wanted it to be, but that’s the nature of these intimate record store shows. It’s special to experience new tracks so up close and personal before the artist has had a chance to polish them live.
You get to hear songs close to their origins and that maybe won’t make the full set when mixed with older material. It feels like a sneak peek behind the scenes of an album.
This was a short, sweet, sweaty, soul-stirring show. Roll on November 29 at SWX where the songs will have expanded and will have another life.
Main image: Mark Chesser
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