Kate Walsh - Live In Manchester
[Royal Northern College Of Music]

OK, so a female songwriter toeing a line between Joan Baez, Sarah Vaughan and Beth Orton, singing about past boyfriends and romantic happenings is music’s equivalent to a reality T.V. given the number of people at it.

Brighton’s Kate Walsh apparently hasn’t had her TV plugged in since last July and doesn’t own an iPod. This idealistic Luddite deserves some respect for approaching the daunting task of performing an intimate acoustic set, in a setting that is perfect for brass bands with humility, littering the songs with feeling and sincerity.

The elementary nature of the music on display, Kate’s mystical gazes and the lullaby nature of a good share of the material, draws a scattered crowd into the haven of humbleness and reflection. For ‘Tonight’, the vocals become drawn out like Tony Blair’s departure as PM and the instrumental tingle underlines the life and relationship musing.

The even tempo is disturbed for the heartstring tugging finale ‘Don’t Break My Heart’, with the guitar loops getting fatter and the vocal projection appears deeper. This is certainly the foundation for a full on pop-song, all it needs is the help of a skipping drumbeat and stroking bass lines.

Kate’s unassuming and thoughtful nature creosotes her crisp, if a little one paced and common place material.