I don't know if you've noticed, but there have been a lot of successful female musicians of late. They all have a sort of inventive spark in them, and they all - or at least their management - possess an astonishing amount of tactical nous when it comes to PR. At the moment, there's Lady Gaga and Little Boots - even more recently than that, Paloma Faith - before them was Kate Nash and ever-present throughout has been Lily Allen, to name but some of the most famous. The vast majority of them are ridiculously annoying.
Not so with Ellen Miller, who retains the invention and poppy allure of the others without grating. The only arrogance is as a parody of the others, tongue-in-cheekily declaring that it must have been nice for the audience to come along to see her. If the teeth-gratingly irritating Lady Gaga would have said the same thing, she would have meant it. Miller's well-crafted songs feature an incredible voice with all the soul of Winehouse and all the lyrical intelligence of Lily, powered in turns by simple, rhythmic chords and delicate fingerwork. Keep a close eye on this one.
Kyla La Grange occupies a slightly different area, with more of a folky twist to her repertoire. There's also a kind of '60s influence in there as well, with hints of hippie-era artists like Joni Mitchell dappled throughout. Inventive, sincere and highly listenable.
The husky-voiced David Place is a strapping chap. His songs are reminiscent of Paolo Nutini and James Morrison, though his singing is a little Bon Jovi-esque in timbre if not shouty power. Accompanied with an occasional bass solo from Rob, David Place played a tuneful rock-tinged set, heartfelt songs played with gusto.
The songs of Paul Goodwin obviously take some inspiration from Billy Bragg, with the gritty poetic lyricism and common-lad voice combining into musical doldrums. Paul's stuff is more tuneful, though, and he has a great sense of musicality. It'd be impossible not to turn intensely introspective when Paul's playing, such is the power of his dark notes.
Dave Knight
The
Portobello Acoustic Sessions is held every Thursday night from 7:30 at The Metropolitan bar, Westbourne Park.
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Paul Goodwin, Interview and Live Review
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The PAS Diaries: Ellen Miller, Kyla La Grange, David Place and Paul Goodwin
