Lucca Mae brings tales of romance Barnoldswick for an uplifting night.
CLEAR DELIVERY AND SIMPLICITY
In the competitive world of female vocalist it must be hard to get yourself noticed and stand out from the rest but Lucca Mae is making great strides to do just that. Although clearly a devotee of, and much inspired by, Amy Winehouse she is developing her own style. With clear delivery of the lyrics and a hint of huskiness she delivers her primarily jazzy songs with elements of funk, soul, blues, reggae touches and even some country.
There is an oriental art form which focusses on simplicity and attention to detail uncluttered by complex images and not fettered by over analysis . Lucca’s music follows this principal both in its composition and performance.
Her own songs, most of which are found on her new album The Truth Is, deliver heart rending episodes of her life with poise and honesty showcasing a maturity beyond her years. How can someone so young be able to resonate poignant and romantic feelings that far exceed her young years?
RESPECTFUL COVERS
As well as matching contemporary singing styles she is at one with the soul and pop era of latter years particularly the sixties. In her first set she skillfully blended pop standards like Be My Baby by The Ronettes and Al Green’s So In Love With You into her set. Her rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Dance Me To The End of Love was another cover in which she added her own style whilst maintaining the sensitivity of the original. Sam Cook’s Cupid was performed with a reggae flourish totally different to her hero Amy’s interpretation of the same song.
She is backed by an extremely tight unit too – Californian guitarist Nathan Reyes, bassist Marcus Tate Porter and drummer Annie Bevan. Nathan added some stunning intricate solos to Lucca’s song whilst the rhythm section wonderfully filled in the spaces working on the less is more principle adding perfect balance to the band. Although Marcus was allowed some melancholic solo excerpts he generally and appropriately kept it light. As did Annie who was let lose powerfully during their version of Fleetwood Mac’s Oh Well. Nathan ramped up the volume for Peter Green’s memorable riffs and licks whilst Lucca showed her interpretive skills slowing down the lyrics.
SPELLBOUND
Luuca doesn’t always need the musical crutches of her band as shown when she opened the second set with a trio of emotional songs from her new album with light touches on her guitar – The Real Thing, Your Smile and Taste Of Home -leaving the audience spellbound. She had expressed a wish to tour solo but it was with her band that she really shone as she continued delivering more songs particularly standing out were On Top Of The World and title track The Truth Is.
Although the audience was not too far short of 100 the full and cosy environment was a perfect setting to create warm atmosphere for Lucca to perform her beguiling songs which are sometimes sung with fragility, sometimes huskily but always melodious and appealing. Even though space was limited there was enough for her to dance and strut around front stage adding to her performance.
If this was a prelude to her moving on to bigger things with the right guidance and support, but tonight with this compelling performance by her and the band we were treated to a memorable evening of intimate beguiling melodies.
Lucca Mae: Website