Kyle Falconer at the Social

In the intimate basement space of The Social, Kyle Falconer – frontman of Scottish indie band The View – performed a short but densely packed solo set. As the gig progressed, the artist shifted between different musical moods. The first three tracks were The Therapist, Avalanche and House of Queues, and to begin with the sound – whilst a little generic – had an authentic foundation and a warm, almost folky inflection. There was a flavour of James Blunt, both in the heartfelt delivery of the music and the emotionally intense melodies that occasionally broke out of control. The expressive vocals still conveyed a subtlety of emotional shade, ranging from gentle, considered melancholy to a resolute feeling of tragedy. However, the unity and synchronisation between the singer’s voice and his guitar-playing (at times percussive, at others smooth) remained consistent, and in House of Queues it even caused goosebumps. The crowd was definitely appreciative.

As if responding to the energy of his fans, the performer began to spice things up, starting with Kelly. Here the mood was instantly bouncier and warmer, calling to mind the innocent fun of endless summer days. Later, the sound became increasingly anthemic, as in Blondie and Batican – which also had a jazzy, almost bluesy vibe. The audience were in total awe, but unfortunately felt the need to express it with very loud, out-of-tune shout-singing, which slightly drowned the vocalist out, especially when he made later attempts to reintroduce a gentler atmosphere, as in Japanese Girl.

The Dundee-born musician certainly rose to the occasion, however, and gave an incredibly involved, energised show. This was most prevalent in Gem of a Bird and Covers, the latter of which was reminiscent of ska. The singer was certainly enjoying himself and giving everything he had to the music. This, in fact, more than made up for the sloppy delivery, little mistakes, occasional forgetting of words and even the enormous technical glitch that forced him to re-start Underneath the Lights. Somehow the artist pulled off this unpolished performance, and something in his nonchalance and don’t-care attitude excited the audience even more. 

Falconer was certainly playing to the crowd to a certain extent. As they roared out requests and incoherent forms of praise, he would launch into upbeat, rousing numbers and the occasional cover, playing The Beatles’ I’ve Just Seen a Face and Squeeze’s Up the Junction to rapturous applause. Indeed, many of the fans also seemed to be Scottish, and they were all singing along heartily.

Ed Edwards

For further information and future events visit Kyle Falconer’s website here.

Watch the video for Family Tree here: