Review: Loyle Carner gets personal at the Hare & Hounds
- Loyle Carner found a welcoming crowd at Birmingham’s Hare & Hounds
- Themes of family, heartbreak and the music industry pervade the deeply honest performance
The BBC’s ‘Sound Of’-lists can often prove to be too high a pedestal to put new artists onto and they often fall off into obscurity soon after. Loyle Carner however shows no sign of falling off anything but the stage he is on tonight at the Hare and Hounds. His stage presence is erratic but somehow still mellow as he bounds from left to right and back; all the while clutching a football shirt in his right hand and the mic in his left.
Tonight’s sold out crowd treat Loyle Carner like an old friend who they are more than proud to see doing so well. Loyle frequently pauses during the set to try and catch what various audience members are hollering at him. One asks if he wants to hang out after the show and he responds by inviting them for a game of football out the front. It’s hard to tell if Loyle Carner opens up so much during the duration of his set because of the warm reception Birmingham are giving him or if sharing his life stories with others is something that just comes naturally to him. As more of his set goes on, it becomes clear that it’s the latter.
Cuts from his A Little Late EP are immaculately re-created in the live environment and highlight ‘Cantona’ is accompanied with a backstory explained by Carner who looks almost to be holding back tears. ‘Cantona’ it turns out is dedicated to his step-dad who Carner sadly lost. He asks the crowd if he can wear the football shirt he’s been clutching dearly throughout the set thus far and proceeds to lead the crowd in chants of “ooh ah Cantona!” Family is a subject area that Loyle Carner’s lyrics return to again and again. ‘October’ is given an airing and Loyle explains that it was written because he really wanted a sister, he then goes on to share that his mother will be adopting a daughter. It’s these little moments in between songs where Loyle shares personal stories that really resonate well.
It isn’t just the introspective out-pouring where Loyle Carner shines however; recent single ‘Ain’t Nothing Changed’ proves to be a defiant call to arms against those who demand change from artists. The as of yet unreleased ‘Old CDs’ is also another rabble-rouser documenting the gain and loss of money due to purchasing old hip-hop CDs with shout outs to Jay Z and Old Dirty Bastard.
Loyle Carner has the warm vocal tones, bouncy melodic flows and imaginative way with words that bring his stories to life on stage. His DJ and best friend for many years Rebel Kleff makes various appearances both scratching the decks and rapping on mic. The chemistry between the two is undeniable. It is Loyle’s charisma that undoubtably carries the show though. He ends his triumphant set with an acapella rap detailing a night he recently spent having his heart broken, his shoulders shoved by bouncers and his mind taunted by other blokes. Despite the sombre story, his use of language and wit makes it all sound like your best friend recalling last night’s antics on the town.
The Loyle Carner sound is the kind of music suited to more intimate surroundings but tonight proves that more and more people will want to witness the loveable rapper in ever increasingly larger surroundings. Let’s hope he stays humble.
