Annie Lovell at Beaufort House

Annie Lovell explains to the intimate, absorbed audience between songs that she originally trained as an opera singer, and it’s no surprise given the power and agility of her voice.

Beaufort House is a lovely, small and very stylish venue, and Lovell of course has no trouble reaching every corner, however she’s an artist who you could easily imagine performing to much larger crowds, perhaps even in a stadium. She sings in a warm, rich tone reminiscent of such greats as Whitney Houston, but admittedly with rather less guts. She moves through one sweet love song after another, mostly in the mould of 80s rock style ballads akin to the hits of Foreigner or even Meat Loaf.

Lovell tells us she’s recently been living in Venice Beach and is sad to be back home in England, but for us it’s a real pleasure to have her, even if it does turn out to be merely a fleeting visit. She’s even generous enough to treat us to a new song entitled In Love with You, a lovely number that flows through a range of tones and emotions.

Lovell is clearly a very passionate girl, and you can’t help feeling it’s a shame for her to be stuck behind the piano for the whole set. While her playing is fair, she’s certainly no Regina Spektor, and it would be great to see her fronting a band so she could really let herself go a little more.

On the basis of the performance tonight though, it may not be long before this becomes a reality.She’s a bold, charismatic and communicative artist who knows how to get a crowd on her side. Annie Lovell is certainly a performer we’ll be hearing a lot more about in the future.

Verdict: ★★★★★

Aydan Savaşkan

For further information about Annie Lovell and future events visit here.

Watch a live performance of I See You here: