LUMP - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 02/09/21

LUMP is a Laura Marling side-hustle that completely passed me by until I tripped over the upbeat hypnotic psych-pop of recent sophomore album title track ‘Animal’. I suddenly realised who was singing and lo and behold, Google did the rest.

The London based singer-songwriter is presumably only too keen to share the dazzling limelight garnered performing solo, tonight’s LUMP show with partner in crime, Mercury winning producer and one half of folktronica duo ‘Tunng’ Mike Lindsay, sees Marling performing a subtly different role. Despite her vocal and guitar obligations on this short UK tour co-fronting a quartet alongside Lindsay, we get virtually no other interaction from her with everyone present in the appreciative Brudenell audience. That’s left largely to Lindsay and includes a rousing ‘Happy Birthday’ from everyone for bassist Simon after that fact is shared.

The only exception is midway through the 10-song trawl on ‘Red Snakes’, basically, Marling’s formidable yet simultaneously fragile voice, backed by not much more than piano, her bandmates seemingly melting away in the gloom; tonight’s live version more sparse than the slightly rustic sound of the album track.

The combination of Lindsay’s folktronica leanings with Marling’s lyrical contributions, deliberately withheld until hearing his musical snippets, still manage to include many of her own half-formed ideas and cutting room throwaways previously cast aside. The experimental thrown-together feel sort of works even if the songs aren’t always sure what they’re supposed to be saying, they just get away with it in a less is more kind of way. Also noticeable is a distinctly European feel to some of the new material including ‘Climb Every Wall’ and ‘Paradise’ complete with its 80s video nasty synths and rock outro.

Saying that, one of this evening’s highlights is debut album lead-off single ‘Curse of the Contemporary’ an ethereal slice of soaring Yacht Rock complete with a new-age twist, Marling’s effortless vocal suddenly acquiring a telling urgency, perhaps fearing our canonised source of light and warmth will one day set forever.

Words - Mike Price.

Lump official