June 12, 2020

Tom Cunliffe, Louisa Nicklin, Wine Cellar, 11 June 2020: Concert Review

Two singer songwriters cast a glow over the Wine Cellar last night. Tom Cunliffe and Louisa Nicklin evoked some old school feels in two brilliant sets. Rev Orange Peel files this review.

A good spell is all over the Wine Cellar tonight. It’s not just a general good will, which is common at live music gatherings. There is some inner sense of human feeling which I will try and put my finger on over the next few shows. Tonight, we are watching two young folk artists.

First up is Louisa Nicklin with a six-song set. Louisa wears three hats. She is a graduate of the Te Koki New Zealand School of Music. She writes classical composition for symphony orchestras and small ensembles. She also plays in a band No Girl and she plays solo.

Tonight, it is just her and a Rickenbacker guitar. And at the end of six songs I was very much taken by the craft shown in these originals.

The mood is mostly downbeat and subdued. Lyric content is evocative of Morrissey and the Smiths. And also Velvet Underground in their quiet folky third album.

Opener Be Kind is one of three new songs tonight. The voice is clear and without affectation, then you hear small shifts of tone and intensity as the song progresses. The Rickenbacker plays drone type melodies which is why I was reminded of the Velvets.

Pour It Down, an older song and again slow vocals that build quietly in intensity.

The Residue seems to occupy the same territory as Joy Division with impending doom from the opening. My mind has betrayed me again.

Never Again is a change. A bright pop sounding guitar with lyrics and music similar to Smiths at their most melodic.

The writing and composition are most impressive from Louisa and I was glad to discover there is a Live at the Wine Cellar EP released less than 2 weeks ago.

Tom Cunliffe became a Kiwi at the age of seven. Birth town is London. He has a mild English accent. Again, I hear extremely well-crafted songs. Strong lyrics and musical composition.

Later I am told that he writes poetry, and from this the songs are fashioned. He sings like an English folk singer from the sixties. Also listens to Dylan and Leonard Cohen.

In the Name of Love is the set opener, played on electric piano and it is different to the above description. He brings an intensity to these vocals. Someone kills, someone shoots the gun, in the name of love.

Then he takes up the acoustic guitar for most of the songs tonight.

We Had it All. Primrose Hill. In the Hours Before the Ground.

All have an uplifting feel to them. So, his vocals land right into Sixties Civil Rights era. Peter Paul and Mary. New York City. The Gaslight Café. In this strange time this is prescient to what has gripped America and rippled out to the rest of the world.

I really got into grooving on this. Hey! A child of the sixties here.

Then came The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll and the encore song a duo Tomorrow is a Long Time/ Blowin’ in the Wind.

A mostly younger audience but they gave genuine enthusiastic support throughout.

Tom has two albums available to get acquainted with his art. Howl and Whisper from 2016 and Template for Love from 2018.

A great show tonight from two young and extremely talented New Zealand artists.

So, it is going to be the year for local artists to step up and flourish as we will not see musicians from abroad until sometime in the following year.

~Rev Orange Peel

All photos by Veronica McLaughlin Photography. Click any image to open a full-size gallery.