Loyle Carner, Victoria Warehouse. 25th February 2023

Anyone who follows SoundCheck Reviews can’t have failed to note that most of the gigs feature guitars. Not all, but most. What makes tonight different. Well truth be told, absolutely nothing. There are still guitars, just not the kind that make your ears bleed. There are drums, keys and soaring samples too, plus a truckload of soul. Even though there’s no wall of sound, with the beautiful lilt to this music, it’s no less intense. Piano lines underpinned with cinematic beats and Loyle’s introspective lyrics are disarming. It’s the sort of stuff on record that stops you dead, but live, well it’s sublime. I last saw him play in the beautiful Band on the Wall. Victoria Warehouse is not really beautiful, but it is bigger. A lot bigger. This will not be a problem. The bassline of ‘Hate’ rips deftly through the room as arms reach for the sky and Carner takes to the stage. Hood up, ready to orchestrate the set. It’s a helluva entrance. The coat comes off for ‘Plastic’ as the strobes kick in and these newer songs flex. The first mass singalong though comes with ‘You Don’t Know’. This crowd are devout. Serenading with “Oh Loyle Carner” as he stands under a street light prop (I wonder if it’s the same one the Pet Shop Boys were using last year). People are up on shoulders. The place is sold out, the whole tour is in fact, but it feels comfortable still, maybe the most comfortable I've ever felt in here, everyone looking after one another. Particularly during ‘Blood on my Nikes’ when one girl collapses. She’s okay though, security are fast and the iPhones come out for ‘Angel’. Seriously it looks like an Apple event. Crazy. It’s a young crowd though and this is what young crowds do. I’d usually moan about this, but everyone’s having so much fun, it’s impossible not to go with it. I don’t get my phone out, but I don’t tell anyone off either. ‘Damselfly’ delivers a gorgeous guitar solo, before the booming bass is back to make my mohawk wobble. ‘Homerton’ is dedicated to his son. Which is nice but it’s not my favourite, even with the live horn which sounds great. I’m sure I’ll be forgiven. Loyle seems like a nice fella. “We stand here with love and hope for the future. Fuck the Tories.” The crowd erupts for ‘Loose Ends’, people seem genuinely moved. It’s a Hugo heavy set, which is fine, but now on album three, there’s not much time left for songs off that first album that I fell for. ‘Ain’t Nothing Changed’ though ticks the box and still sounds glorious. “Thank you for lifting me up” he says. Loyle has lifted an entire room tonight. As ‘Ottolenghi’s warm tones reverberate around these cold walls we're all left with a glow, that will keep us toasty us as we take to the streets outside. Beautiful. Really beautiful. If you’ve got a ticket for this tour, you’re in for something special.