Live Review: Kieran Ryan, Jessica Says

Considering Kid Sam were such deserved darlings of the live scene in Melbourne, it's surprising this gig hasn't sold out. With that band on suspension, this is the launch gig for the hugely talented guitarist and vocalist Kieran Ryan's solo album. There was a strange, intangible magic to the music of Kid Sam, which has evaporated in Kieran Ryan's solo work. His eponymous record has a different kind of charm. This material is less ethereal, and is much more steeped in the classic mode of songwriting a la Leonard Cohen or The Triffids. The Toff is a lovely venue for it, but oddly it's so low key in here it's almost no key. At least the walls won't fall down – people are holding them up on both sides, spreading the chairs along the sides, leaving a chasm in the middle of the room in which people end up sitting, cross legged. It is, after all, music to shut your eyes and sway your head to.

Jessica Says: the cello, the French lyrics, the pretentious falsetto… We can't escape it because we've just bought a round of drinks too big to scull. Plus one describes it as Tori Amos on welfare – genius. The upside is the relief when Ryan glides onto the stage without a word. He starts with the track that also opens the album, the beautiful and haunting Out Of Africa, alone on stage with his guitar. He played this a few months ago supporting Thurston Moore at the Arts Centre, replete with a harp, and it was stunning. Tonight, the harp is gone but his band retains two drumkits. Keyboard, bass and violin and occasional cello support from Jessica Says round it out.

Ryan has a gentle charm, admitting he doesn't have much to say on stage. His guitar playing is stunning as usual and his voice sounds stronger. He has released the songs with more grunt as singles – The Cannibal Club and the string heavy, Spanish oomph of Red Eyed Birds. But it is the quietly captivating Building A Snowman that has the most impact. He finishes with the Cohen-esque The World Is Ending, and the ultimate in low-key gigs evaporates.