Jamie Lidell
With latest album Jim, Jamie Lidell has firmly established himself as the black sheep in the Warp Records family. From the glitchy electro of his Super Collider days, through the electronic soul of 2005’s fantastic Multiply, he’s now arrived as a fully-fledged soulman. The new record sheds the last vestiges of his past in electronica, the result being a set of songs wreathed in old-school soul and funk arrangements. Some critics have reacted uncharitably, accusing Lidell of plagiarism, but with songs and – crucially – a voice as good as his, the argument is rendered pretty much moot.
The fact he remains on indie label Warp may be the reason why his band – for on this tour he no longer performs solo with a bank of electronic hardware – is as compact as it is. You imagine he’d love to be fronting up a full-on soul orchestra, but tonight he is joined by a drummer, bass player/guitarist, keyboardist and saxophonist (who at times plays two saxes at once), and it means the performances are raw, primal and instant. There’s no flab here; no self-indulgence and, as ever, Lidell is the consummate showman. From his frankly ridiculous get-up (Dick Turpin getting ready for bed, perhaps) to the way he cheekily struts around stage and belts out the chirpy ‘Another Day’, the staccato funk of ‘Figured Me Out’ and the smooth ‘Green Light’, he commands attention. He also finds time for a throwback to the old days, with the band temporarily departing after a neat segue into a thudding ‘When I Come Back Around’ and then ‘A Little Bit More’, both from Multiply. When they return, we get four more from the new album, including a superb run-through of the single, ‘Little Bit Of Feel Good’, before the encore. After the delicate ‘Game Of Fools’, Lidell closes on a high with the title track from Multiply. Sped up, frantic and all kinds of fun, it provokes grins all around the room.
However, there is slight cause for concern. To an extent, Lidell is straddling two audiences – Warp-heads who have followed him for years, and the neophytes drawn in by his stellar voice and the crystalline soul-pop of Jim. You feel that at some point he might have to make a choice between them, but for now he’s doing fine at keeping everyone happy. Chris Jones
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