Last Sunday I was one of the lucky people that experienced Kindelan’s intimate gig at the Vinyl Whistle record shop in Leeds to support the launch of her new double‑single ‘After Before’. The release features two tracks, “Cigarettes” (After) and “Wish I Wrote A Love Song” (Before). Before I tell you about her set let me give a shout out to the Vinyl Whistle. It is a wonderfully cosy and welcoming record shop/ bar hybrid in Headingley. I will return, obviously I bought some vinyl on this visit, four albums to be precise!
The gig featured just Laura and a guitar and that outstanding voice. Many of her recent releases, particularly her EP ‘you can reach me if you try’ from 2023 feature her soulful, unique take on 21st Century R &B. But when everything is stripped back to that distinctive Kindelan voice and her guitar playing it is hard to drop into any genre box. I have likened Kindelan to Jeff Buckley in the past an in this setting it shows clearly. Her latent talent for telling stories through songs and never being afraid of the silence in a song shows her in the same talent bracket as Buckley in my opinion.
Laura opened with a brace of recent Kindelan classics, “The Other Side” and “Hazel Frustration”. Her between song chat is always, personable, eloquent, fun and interesting. I love the way she shares how her songs were born, what triggered them and what helped them develop. The new songs, “Default” and “Big Sky” sound very promising. “Can’t Sleep” was dedicated to overthinkers everywhere, while I may not be an overthinker it describes someone very close to me.
When Kindelan finally treated us to the two songs from ‘After Before’ there was a beautiful air of positive expectation which was met in bucket loads. “Cigarettes” has an undercurrent of pent-up anger and a dark side that Laura plays so well in some songs. It strips feelings down to very raw levels that deal with heartbreak, and lost love and intimacy. Meanwhile “Wish I Wrote A Love Song” keeps a mist of regret of a relationship that was in the end not right. It is a melancholy view on the hope that existed in the beginning.
Vocally, Kindelan struck a fine balance between poise and raw feeling. She spent her notes, filling spaces with soulful warmth. This nuance made the songs breathe—each guitar pluck and vocal inflection had emotional weight. It might be basic jazz‑soul, but the performance was anything but ordinary. The fans in the shop responded with whoops and an applause that only let up because we wanted to hear the next song. This set was stylish, charming, buzzing with passion and intimate. This was yet another fabulous Kindelan performance. This was the fifth or sixth time I have seen Kindelan play live and she is an artist that gets better every time!
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