tUnE-YaRdS – Scala, London 23/06/2010

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In a fair and equitable world, Merrill Garbus would be one of the most lauded acts on Earth. There’s no shortage of solo acts using loop-pedals nowadays, and there’s certainly no deficit of bands who sound a bit (or a lot) like Animal Collective, but tUnE-YaRds towers above them all like a colossus of unyielding awesome. Many would have first encountered her supporting Dirty Projectors, no slouches themselves in the live performance department, at this very same venue last September. That night, she blew Dave Longstreth and company off the stage. Her show in February was the most exhilarating gig I’ve ever seen in at the Cargo, compelling an audience of Hoxton hipsters and nerdy indie kids to uncross their arms, throw off their air of studied indifference and get their asses dancing. And although tonight fails to quite recapture that same electrifying atmosphere, it remains a fine testament to her mesmerising talents.

Although she crafts her songs from relatively simple ingredients- a ukulele, a couple of drums, a loop-pedal- there’s nothing basic about her music. Combining African rhythms with elements of trip-hop, blues and folk, it’s a mix that elicits the same degree of joy as the best moments of AC, but without the fussiness or self-indulgence. And her vocals! To call her versatile would understate the case and then some- never have I seen an act who can take on an air of wounded fragility one moment, and showboat like Mariah Carey the next. Towards the end of the awe-inspiring ‘Hatari’, she emulates a air-horn with wild-eyed abandon; on other tracks, she hits notes that in a more sophisticated venue would have shattered wine-glasses. For something that could so easily come across as pretentious or self-conscious, she makes it seem so natural – partly due to her incredibly likeable character, partly because she never falls into the trap of complexity for its own sake.

Normally performing with just a bassist for accompaniment, she brings along a full band tonight. It’s a move fraught with risk. In the wrong hands, it could have diluted the features that make her so compelling in the first place, but their contributions are well-judged, if inessential. Like the best backing bands, they’re used sparingly for maximum effect, complimenting rather than overwhelming the star attraction, and although she’s still best seen solo, there were moments that were augmented by the extra guitar and percussion.

So don’t be dissuaded by her “too lo-fi for it’s own good” debut LP, or the ridiculous rendering of her stage name. Merrill Garbus is the real deal: an original and superlatively talented artist who reminds me just why I fell in love with live music in the first place.

Photos by Anika Mottershaw