Nia Wyn plays smooth 70s style soulfunk. She has a Paloma Faith style edge to her voice so her material is a natural reference point.. 'Leave My Bed' is bluesy soul. 'Guilty' is mature soul in a similar vein to Lianne La Havas. The guitarist is very good and his impassioned solo towards the end of 'Your Team's 60s styled soul is great. 'A Pleasure To Have In Class' is a little poppier, like a modern take on The Shangri-Las. However, it does seem less authentic, like when Rod Stewart turns his hand to soul. Her voice is good enough but I'm not the biggest fan of her style of singing. Not too bad though.
Say She She open with a deliciously funky 'Reeling'' but it's really the vocals which stand out. All those higher pitched backing vocals are done to perfection. The disco funk of 'C'est Si Bon' is excellent and brings Labelle or Chic to mind. 'Fortune Teller' is more contemporary pop but is excellently executed. 'Never Say Never' features great harmonies and some subtle guitar work which reminds me of Paul Weller. 'Trouble' features some choreographed dance moves even though it isn't really their style. They're all about the vocals, and those voices are peerless. You can tell they're all classically trained, and some of the vocals border on soprano at times. 'Echo In The Chamber' is an excellent slice of soul funk and it's nice to see that they're socially conscious too. They add a Nile Rodgers edge to a terrific cover of Talking Heads' 'Slippery People'. 'NORMA' is a heavy piece of funk fronted by En Vogue and is extremely good. The girls exit the stage whilst the excellent backing band play a couple of funky instrumentals. This allows the girls to change costumes into something shinier. The psychedelic soul of 'Astral Plane' is fantastic and the crowd reaction is unbelievable. The band say we're the best crowd of the tour and although every band says this, I'm inclined to believe them. 'Forget Me Not' sounds like Labelle covering Donna Summer's 'Love To Love You Baby' and is brilliant. The strange chorus is mesmerising. 'Bleeding Heart' sounds like early Goldfrapp mixed with 'Thriller' era Michael Jackson. How they're not massive is puzzling because they're incredible. It hardly matters though because here they are adored and the closing cover of 'I Believe In Miracles' is greeted by a mass of writhing, dancing bodies. Fantastic.
Say She She ****
Nia Wyn ***
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