REVIEW: Kyle Falconer

by Margaret Chrystall

THE party had already started when Kyle Falconer and his band got to the small-format stage at the Ironworks on Friday, thanks to Lossiemouth’s The Roov.

Dylan Tierney had performed a set of his signature contained folk songs, as usual keeping his crowd hungry with an almost evasive performance, looking down most of the time, swinging his acoustic guitar, quickly moving on from song to song in a set with wistful, timeless songs such as Misty Roads, I’ll Find You, Tell Me When, and something reassuring and soothing about a line like “Tell me what is wrong and I will put it right” in Down By The Water.

Lossiemouth’s The Roov ooze confidence and for anyone who saw their Belladrum performance, the Ironworks set was just as assured with some of the swagger and joy in the music View fans might remember from the Dundee band’s earliest days.

Though the funky power of the band comes from songs such as opener You Wanna Be Like Me and their last single Stuck On You – played twice, the keyboard-player and singer Lewis Anderson told us, so that we would remember it – it’s when he sings, revealing a voice somewhere between an angelic Justin Timberlake and Diana Ross, that the band with all-action guitarist and singer Frankie Ralph becomes something special.

Kyle’s children’s song (Mr Men?) gave an all-smiles start and almost instantly the crowd revealed it had been doing its homework on Kyle’s new album No Thank You.

Everyone was up for a singalong – these new songs are precision-engineered for it. Poor Me opens the album and show proper as Kyle got upfront about his troubles in “jolly jingles” that melodically tribute his beloved Beatles – The Therapist, Avalanche and Family Tree.

Energy high, Kyle and band delivered eight new album songs, all effortlessly earning their place in the set.

With the promised View hits, Kyle and band offered some sublime moments such as the five-part harmonies of Cheeky For A Reason’s How Long and Kyle’s solo-at-the-keyboards acoustic treat, a performance of Tacky Tattoo dripping melancholy.

Kyle’s triumph was a night that matched and musically surpassed in its own more grown-up way the View’s riotous happenings.

Being able to set a crowd alight like that is a gift, but easy to see how addictive it must be.

Live, the sound of that struggle is surprisingly joyful.