Natalie Prass @ The Deaf Institute, 25 June

Live Review by Joe Goggins | 01 Jul 2015

First things first: it takes a brave person indeed to wear anything loud and patterned on stage at the Deaf Institute. Standing against the gloriously kitsch wallpaper that’s quickly become iconic for Mancunian gig goers against the past few years, you’re guranteed to clash pretty spectacularly. Natalie Prass, as she acknowledges midset, appears to be wearing her pyjamas tonight, but there’s nothing quite so jarring about the self-titled debut record she put out back in January; the warmth of her vocals, which feel like a real throwback to old-fashioned pop, cut through the lush instrumentation like a knife through butter, and unanimous critical acclaim followed.

The L.A. native and her band have spent much of 2015 thus far on the road with Ryan Adams, but appear to have made the transition to longer sets seamlessly, impressively stretching this evening to almost 90 minutes. Unsurprisingly, there’s no guest appearance from the man himself as was the case the previous evening in London, but he’s here in spirit; Prass delivers a gorgeous cover of My Winding Wheel early on. Elsewhere, though, some of the album material fails to hit the mark; the band are tight and well-drilled, but without the brass and strings that were such a crucial part of what made the record feel so well-realised, the likes of Bird of Prey and My Baby Don’t Understand M feel oddly flat.

In the live setting, too, Prass’ voice seems a little shallower and less commanding than on record. She pulls things round on a solo rendition of Everybody – as well as with a superb take on You Keep Me Hangin’ On to close – but overall, this feels like an opportunity missed; on the face of it, at least, Prass doesn’t appear to have fully figured out how best to translate what made her album so arresting to her live shows.

http://natalieprassmusic.com