Jorja Smith @ The Liquid Room, Edinburgh, 6 Feb

A disruptive crowd unfortunately gets in the way of what could have been a great night for rising talent Jorja Smith

Live Review by Nadia Younes | 09 Feb 2018

Hearing Jorja Smith’s voice live, it becomes clear pretty quickly that all the hype around her is well-deserved. With lampshades hanging from the ceiling and her band spread out around her, the stage set-up gives the feel of an intimate jazz bar setting, suiting Smith's silky tones perfectly.

Smith’s voice has to be heard to be believed, and she really does have something special; the only issue tonight is that, at times, you can barely hear her over the audience’s constant chatter. Her vocals are impeccable on tracks like Goodbyes – during which she's accompanied only by her guitarist – and Something in the Way, but are equally befitting to more upbeat tracks, like her collaboration with garage producer Preditah, On My Mind, with which she closes the show.

Some songs fall a bit flat though, and there's a sense that if she had a better catalogue of tunes in her arsenal, Smith could be a much greater force to be reckoned with. Her cover of Lost – which she recently released as part of the Spotify Singles series, along with a stripped-back rendition of her own single Teenage Fantasy – is one that even Frank Ocean himself would be proud of and goes to show just how great she really could be, if only she had the same calibre of songs.

Ignoring the disruptive crowd and unbelievably sexist remarks from some audience members is tricky, but set that aside for a minute and you can really experience the full wealth of Smith’s talent.

http://jorjasmith.com