Emily Fairlight, Auckland NZ, 2018

Emily Fairlight

18th August 2018
Anthology Lounge, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Doug Peters.

At the bottom of a flight of wooden stairs that descends past lovingly decorated walls is Auckland’s Anthology Lounge; a sumptuous new music venue tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the iconic street known amongst locals as K’rd. Nestled amongst deep velvet curtains and crystal cut chandeliers with highlights of black glass, photographs of some of music’s greatest gaze down on the surprisingly spacious stage that tonight will be graced by the one and only Emily Fairlight. The venue is brimming with fans, one and all gathered together to celebrate the release of Fairlight’s latest album, the ethereal Mother of Gloom.

But first to warm up the stage is former Wellingtonian musician Tom Cunliffe armed with nothing but his guitar and a warm smile. While rather unassuming in a simple faded blue shirt, Cunliffes voice is larger than life, filling the room easily with its presence. Cunliffe is a folk artist, with threads of alternative/indie running through his repertoire. His songs are tales, lingering memories suspended in the recesses of someone’s mind; delivered with humility and yet self-assuredness; the details in the lyrics of his songs such as ‘Burning Blood’ resonating on a personal level for many. Comparisons to another singer soon to grace our shores would be hard not to make, a fact obviously not lost on Cunliffe as he performs a wonderful rendition of ‘Bob Dylan’s Dream’ by the ‘voice of a generation’ himself Bob Dylan. Warm and rich, his vocals moving like sand blown by the earliest of autumn winds, Cunliffe was a wonderful opening act for such an auspicious evening.

As the crowd pressed in closer Fairlight accompanied by three fellow musicians took the stage amid enthusiastic applause; Fairlight taking the centre spot looked striking in her cropped fur jacket.

Beginning the set with the first track of her new album a song entitled ‘Body Below’ and immediately the crowd were enraptured, Fairlight’s vocals melancholy with just the right amount of vibrato to make them so utterly uniquely hers that it was a breathtaking way to begin the set. Pausing briefly to thank Tom for opening the night Fairlight goes on to explain that sadly the drummer and keyboardists flight was cancelled, tonight seeing Mike McLeod kindly stepping in on drums. Moving into ‘Private Apocalypse’ again from her new album (Fairlight stating in an earlier interview that the set would appropriately include much of her latest work) and the audience remained spellbound, bewitched by the stories she weaved; ‘Private Apocalypse’ soon revealing another one of Fairlight’s talents to the audience – her ability to whistle in tune.

Many of Fairlight’s tracks are short in length, however this detracts absolutely nothing from them; instead they are delightfully succinct, communicating all that they need to within their brief dalliances with the hands of the clock.

Several tracks are punctuated with guitar solos provided by Finn Johansson, his work only adding to the emotive beauty of the work being laid out before the audience. Indeed, it seemed that there were no limits to the talent of this collective group as McLeod left his drum kit to play on the resident ivory white grand piano for one of two new songs that were debuted this evening, ‘Same Person’. Much to the sheer delight of the crowd, a quick on-stage discussion resulted in an agreement to don some rather humorous headpieces that many fans of Fairlight’s would have recognised from the ‘Drag The Night In’ music video. Dramatic tracks such as ‘Lip Lasso’d’ were punchy, Fairlight transforming into a true siren of the stage as she delivered them, their swagger setting them apart from the others as songs to be reckoned with.

Thanking the audience once more Fairlight and co finished with ‘Water Water’ – one of the stand-outs from her new album, (the hypnotic chant of the tail end of the song even more intoxicating in the live setting) before leaving with the sweet and very personal to Fairlight herself ‘Breathe Baby Breathe’, the soothing lull of the song guiding all back to the present hour after such an impassioned set.

Were you there at Anthology Lounge for this brilliant folk rock gig? Or have you seen Emily Fairlight perform live some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!

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