Andrew Combs at the Lexington

The Texan country/soul singer-songwriter Andrew Combs came to London from Nashville, Tennessee for an intimate gig at Islington’s Lexington pub, with a selection of emotional numbers that threw a blanket of down feathers on our heads to warm up the cold winter night. His voice is really rather good, but the songs merged into one long wail that began with Better Way from the 2017 album Canyons of My Mind, moving onto to Dry Eyes, and culminating in the recut of Too Stoned To Cry, which received cheers from audience members as they stood together in pairs, heads on shoulders, swaying gently to the music.

His lyrics veered from nostalgia about the way things used to be – such as in his self-proclaimed “tree-hugging hippie song” Dirty Rain – to the declaration that The Stone (from the album Ideal Man), which blocks the way, hides the light while he sits alone with his thoughts. Taking its rhythm from R&B, this song combined downcast lyrics with an upbeat rhythm that was quite pleasant to listen to while enjoying a pint on a Tuesday evening. In the same manner, Laurelee, which seems to have turned its ears towards Elton John for inspiration, added to the ambience of the upstairs venue.

Ending the evening with his renowned single Rose Colored Blues, Combs received some encouraging cheers from a full house at the Lexington. Overall, however, the performance was weak and rather dull, and with melancholic lyrics, its country-soul genre was more akin to emo rock played by suburban young men in Daddy’s garage. 

Marissa Khaos
Photos: Virginie Viche

For further information and future events visit Andrew Combs’s website here.

Watch the video for Too Stoned to Cry here: