Hannah Rose Platt at The Water Rats
On Wednesday evening, Hannah Rose Platt took to the stage at The Water Rats in King’s Cross to celebrate her most recent album, Fragile Creatures, a stunning piece of work centred upon the feminine experience and women’s health. With an Edinburgh Fringe theatrical performance in the works this year to accompany her comprehensive and varied narrative album, Platt has fully cemented her position as a singer-songwriter who transcends mere melody. Though her craft is impeccable and her songs are hauntingly performed, the overarching sentiment of the show is undoubtedly that her storytelling capability reigns supreme, both within and outside of the tracks themselves.
Audience members would be forgiven for thinking that they were in for an entirely different kind of spectacle as Platt arrives on stage, adorned in a glimmering silver sequin dress and with a radiant personality to match. She charms the crowd immediately, inviting them into her self-confessed rabbit-hole of a woman’s place throughout history and kicks off proceedings with Ataraxia, followed by Curious Mixtures, for which she cleverly enlists a loop pedal utilised with mastery and comfort. The album is born from her reading of Elinor Cleghorn’s Unwell Women, and as she launches into playing it in full, moving through the stirring personal piece Young Men Need Their Wives and the evocative ballad Magdalene, fans are brought along for the journey in a uniquely enthusiastic manner. Platt is entirely contradictory in her lyrical poignancy, sonic darkness and yet her glowing eagerness to share her work, which makes for a beautifully warm combination. Her earnest passion for the dark anecdotes she presents to contextualise each track is evident and makes her atmospheric album feel even more enthralling in an intimate room. Though there is sometimes the impression that this body of work deserves a full orchestra and, in particular, a live piano to punctuate the rousing guitar, the band brings an ambience far larger than the venue to the stage, proof that this record is much bigger than a simple collection of songs.
They power through the oeuvre, hitting their mark in particular with Rest In Persistence (An Anthem for Anne Greene) and The Edinburgh Seven, on which the crowd kindly provide backing vocals. For all that is melancholy, the shrewdly crafted setlist allows for a moment of levity as the show comes to an end, finishing with the lighter final track of the album, ironic and even danceable. Platt also harks briefly back to her catalogue, gracing fans with two of the irresistibly upbeat rock tracks from Deathbed Confessions to close the night out.
What is so striking about Platt’s music is that she appears to speak directly to the soul of the contemporary woman whilst recounting tales of females past. There is a sense that her work is more important than ever, and that her skill as a raconteuse sets her apart as a voice of the zeitgeist. The album is singularly creative and utterly compelling, even more so when enhanced with her ethereal vocals and a sublime live band to match.
Tallulah Allen
Photos: Virginie Viche
For further information and future events, visit Hannah Rose Platt’s website here.
Watch the video for the single Young Men Need Their Wives here:
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