Country singer H.C. McEntire gets the night off to a genuinely spellbinding start, settling into a set of stripped-back guitar ballads blanketed in just the right amount of reverb. It’s an uncommonly moving support slot that sets the mood perfectly for the headline set.

From the moment they appear onstage to the moment they leave it, Natalie Prass and her band demonstrate a level of virtuosity rarely seen in pop music. Prass deftly switches from guitar to synthesizer and back again, simultaneously mixing her voice on the fly.

This, the opening night of The Future And The Past Tour, seems to encapsulate just that: the romanticism of 50s Americana intertwined with the futurism of 80s synthpop. Prass offers up sounds that are both nostalgic and contemporary, songs that feel removed from space and time.

This transcendence, though, does not prevent her from delivering a relevant message; she tells the audience that she scrapped a completed record to write a new one following Trump’s election. ‘Ship Go Down’ is a noted highlight among these new tracks that embody political pop at its finest, and sees the band confidently navigate their way through a steady 6-minute build.

Above all, it’s a night of spontaneity. Prass and the crowd share jokes with each other throughout, none of which feel remotely rehearsed. There is also a genuinely unplanned encore prompted by the gift of a Brazilian flag, inciting the band to launch into a fiesta-inspired song that the bassist learns on the spot. The crowd leave the Brudenell with smiles on their faces and an urge to keep on dancing.

Tom Paul

Header Image Credit: Simon Godley