Regular readers to this blog (I think there are now some of you ...) will remember the name Chloe Lorentzen. I first wrote about her almost a year ago (although I’ve been listening to her for much longer), and have featured her music a number of times since. She's well-known locally, and it's been great to see her music and performance style evolving steadily over time.
Last Saturday 19th, Chloe headlined an event called 'Introducing New Music', held in the lovely Shambles bar area of the Old Town Hall in Bourne. The venue has an interesting history, and since 2017 has been in the care of a charitable trust which is working hard to restore the building and put on events (live music, comedy, poetry, and more).
For me, the most hard-hitting of Mali's songs was 'Damages'. It tells the story of her experiences of bullying, beginning when she was aged 10, and continuing through her teens; it was quite heart-breaking to listen to. But at the same time it was empowering to see Mali standing on stage and telling this story with bravery and confidence. This was a quiet intimate venue with nowhere to hide, but she didn't try to, and her performance clearly touched the hearts of the audience.
But don't get me wrong; this is not depressing, maudlin music which will push your spirits low; instead it's somehow inspiring, liberating - there's a kind of beauty in life's endings. 'In the arms of Morpheus' is a perfect example - a delicate composition on the death of a beloved pet. And the rendition on Saturday was the best I've heard it performed. Chloe drew on the hush of the space and the respectfulness of the audience she was in front of, playing with precision and weaving a kind of magic - placing notes into the air and letting them dissolve into faint echoes.
Support on Saturday night came from Mali Faraz, a 17-year-old singer-songwriter from the area. I hadn't heard her music before, and I was impressed, particularly with the original material she performed.
A word which kept coming to my mind during her performance, and Chloe's later, was 'vulnerability'. Her song-writing is transparent and honest, and her delivery matched - she sung clearly and without affectation, and this allowed the songs to come into their own. Lyrically, too, Mali didn't shy away from the main message or try to veil it with excessive metaphor. Her use of the third person in songs about her own experiences also brought an interesting dimension.
When Chloe took to the stage, she didn't stride to the centre with her guitar as usual. Instead, she seated herself behind her piano, head bowed. This was the first time Chloe had played the piano in public. I know she was feeling some trepidation about that - but she didn't need to. She performed beautifully, and the piano added a great additional element to the set.
This was particularly the case in the second of her keyboard-based songs, a new one called 'Pristine'. It featured quite early on, but remained one of the most memorable and impactful moments for me. It's a noticeably darker song than a lot of Chloe's previous work, and presents as slightly chilly or forbidding ... but it's thoroughly, thoroughly beautiful, following quite an unusual chord-progression, reminiscent of the best parts of Radiohead. 'Pristine' hints at a slight direction change and a new level of maturity to Chloe's song-writing, and I hope for more of this. I also really want to hear that song again.
Overall, the piano element to the performance allowed Chloe to show a different part of her creative self. She often jokes about her subject matter, her 'sad' songs, but this theme has never been more apparent than in some of this piano-based music. The instrument has perhaps inspired her to explore those darker moments a bit further.
'Remember You' provided another one of those excursions - it's a piece exploring the hollow realisation that, no matter what kind of legacy you may think you're leaving behind, this is ultimately futile as one day there will be no one left to remember it. Cheery. (Check out the atmospheric video.)
But don't get me wrong; this is not depressing, maudlin music which will push your spirits low; instead it's somehow inspiring, liberating - there's a kind of beauty in life's endings. 'In the arms of Morpheus' is a perfect example - a delicate composition on the death of a beloved pet. And the rendition on Saturday was the best I've heard it performed. Chloe drew on the hush of the space and the respectfulness of the audience she was in front of, playing with precision and weaving a kind of magic - placing notes into the air and letting them dissolve into faint echoes.
Another highlight of the performance was 'Alone' (just released and available to stream here). This is a bit of an epic piece, with a catchy main melodic theme which emerges cleverly near the start and develops subtly as the song goes on - perfect for audience participation. Just as on the studio version, the live performance of the song began with an extended acapella section, Chloe trusting her judgement and her voice to do the work. When the guitar came in, she was spot on pitch. I've heard Chloe do this before, but the confident way she implements it never fails to impress me.
Every song in the set was a highlight, and only time is stopping me from describing them all. I will mention in particular 'Wallflower', which has become a firm favourite of mine over the past months (there few lyrics more more effective than "Every day is a constant battle, and I'm beginning to unravel ..."). And I can't forget the as-yet unreleased 'Chains': it's a song in which Chloe showed a really subtle touch, putting on the power at times and at other moments transferring into a light falsetto.
Then there was the perfectly judged 'On That Day' and the joyous 'My Time', before finally we came to her last piece (part of a two - or was it three? - song encore), and a very special moment: a happier song, love-themed, and sung about and for her boyfriend, who was sitting just a few feet away. The emotion was obvious: more of that honesty, more of that vulnerability.
Overall, this was a very memorable and at times pretty intense evening, and one which absolutely reaffirms my faith in a new generation of singer-songwriters.
Chloe Lorentzen on Spotify:
Mali Faraz on Spotify: