Anna Calvi & Anna Meredith – The Arches, Glasgow 05/02/14

For a first tour, Anna Meredith’s music doesn’t sound like it needs much tweaking. The Scottish composer has released two EPs so far, Black Prince Fury and Jet Black Raider; with the former being entirely electronic and the latter revealing Meredith’s classical training through clarinet, glocks and cello. Both sides are on show tonight, and she’s nearly got the combination perfect already. I’d be tempted to drop the vocals but backed with a guitarist and cellist, Meredith plays keys, drums and clarinet, looping the sounds to create something that mixes Planningtorock, Love This Giant, and the constant crescendos of AU to great effect. The highlight is still the frightening brass attack of “Nautilus”; it’s such a massive composition at such an early stage of her career that you wonder what Meredith might be capable of a bit further down the line.

When I interviewed Anna Calvi last year ahead of her second album One Breath she spoke of her need for honesty in her music and how this time around she relied more on instinct when writing the songs that make up the record. The development from album one to album two was clear on record; I’d seen Calvi live once before and it was an incredibly intense experience. She is a performer who you simply cannot take your eyes off, and that was down partly to her striking beauty but mostly for the way she owned every inch of the stage despite barely moving. Calvi is in possession of one of THE great voices. It moves from a throaty whisper to an ocean’s roar with minimum effort, captivating your ear and heart, and once you add in her ability as a guitar player then it’s a case of her being an unstoppable force.

Tonight, the intensity is still there but there’s something relaxed about Calvi. She cruises through “Suzanne and I” (from her debut) with languid fluidity, and that approach perfectly fits the confident rendition of the noirish “Sing to Me” and the sumptuously dark way she approaches “Cry”. It’s not until we hit “I’ll Be Your Man” and “Love of My Life” that the relaxed Calvi turns into a confident, strutting and swaggering Calvi. The volume levels go up a notch and there’s plenty of electricity and improv as that pair of songs pay more than a passing nod to her love of the Bad Seeds and Tom Waits. Throwing in a brilliant solo version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire” followed by a booming take on “Desire” (still one of Calvi’s best songs) means the closing of the show leaves the crowd in raptures. She’s a woman of few words, but I think everyone’s happy to let the music do the talking.

A three song encore gives Calvi the chance to properly let loose, ending on her theatrical take of Frankie Laine’s “Jezebel”, all pummelling drums and galloping guitar. Even though it’s not her own song, the lyrics just seem to fit the Anna Calvi style. “God knows it’s just the devil in me” she sings on “Desire”. Calvi’s let that devil take a little more control, giving into her impulses, and tonight we’ve seen the rewards which come from going with your instincts.