Live Review: Sharon Van Etten, Jack Ladder, Tiny Ruins, Heather Woods Broderick

This gig seemingly unfurls in slow motion to the sound of soft, sweet, introspective music. 

Those who arrive early are treated to an astonishing set from Heather Woods Broderick, who previews songs from her soon-to-be-released second album. Woods Broderick, who plays keys in Van Etten’s band, comes across like a grittier Hope Sandoval. Her wistful vocals are full of yearning, which makes for compelling listening. The sparse twangs of her electric guitar are like glimmering sparkles that act to lighten the intensity of her tunes. A spellbinding cover of Kath Bloom’s The Breeze feels like a significant improvement upon the version that Bill Callahan dealt a few years back. As Woods Broderick leaves the stage it feels like we have blown all the superlatives this review needs on a very short opening set that is nothing but a tease leaving us wanting so much more.

Kiwi trio, Tiny Ruins play a selection of introspective songs that exude a certain fragile beauty. Concentrating on tunes from last year’s Brightly Painted One, which was released on Bella Union, they adopt an intimate position with the audience with casual ease. The outfit deals fairly straightforward folk- and country-inflected pop that showcases Hollie Fullbrook’s brilliantly finger-picked guitar and talent for writing memorable songs that capture her quirky observations of life. The gentle tones of Me At The Museum, You In The Wintergardens and Carriages are obvious highlights.

Sharon Van Etten kicking off with an almost-pop version Don’t Do It seems keen to offer a lighter more buoyant mood. Playing with a four-piece backing band, Etten adds more muscle to the mix. The outfit offer up dreamy, country-soul arrangements that make songs like Taking Chances and Leonard feel uplifting, while still retaining a tingle of the bittersweet melancholia that featured on the recorded versions. As the set progresses, Van Etten drifts into deliciously contemplative moods with Nothing Will Change and I Don’t Want To Let You Down, which features exquisite vocal harmonising with Woods Broderick. 

At times it does feels a little like dream-pop-by-numbers and, on occasion, Van Etten’s vocals are a little overwhelmed by her band but when she goes it solo to belt out an untitled, unreleased track to devastating effect she really shows off her ample talent as a singer-songwriter and the emotions she can evoke. Surprisingly, Van Etten has the crowd giggling as she cracks goofy jokes in between songs. It’s at odds with the power unleashed by the dark Your Love Is Killing Me, which starts to feel like Van Etten is from the somewhat uncomfortable ‘music as therapy’ school of songwriting.

Encores kick off with Ask, which was requested by a fan over Twitter, before Van Etten literally sheds her skin with the rock-out jam of Serpents. Van Etten entrances with a fascinating mix of deep, bruising emotion and melody.