Kevin Morby @ Gorilla, Manchester, 20 Aug

“I just wanted to apologise again for not making it over last year.”

Kevin Morby is, for all intents and purposes, nine months late. He was supposed to play here in November of 2017, but cut short what was projected to be an extensive European tour after two full years on the road began to take their toll. The Kansas City native cited "overall health and wellbeing" as being behind the decision, and as much as he was doubtlessly referring to the rigours of the touring lifestyle you wonder whether it’s been a good thing for his music, too.

He seems genuinely reenergised tonight, delivering a set that leans heavily on last year’s City Music. Over the course of the last couple of years, Morby has reinvented indie folk to fit his own specifications; he first did so on 2016’s Singing Saw, which imbued his signature blend of folk and heartland rock with flickers of gospel and country. City Music is a more rambunctious affair – the ramshackle title track is a real highlight, opening the set and flitting between languid and galloping in the process – and tonight, Morby strikes a sweet spot between the two albums. I Have Been to the Mountain is still movingly soulful even with a lighter touch from the backing band, whilst the handsome Crybaby, on which he takes his cues from his contemporary Angel Olsen, feels a little breezier.

Speaking of his peers, the evening’s highlight comes with an unbilled appearance, for a couple of songs, from Morby’s girlfriend, Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee. Together, the two take on a couple of covers; they pay a bluesy, driving tribute to the late, great Jason Molina with The Dark Don’t Hide It, originally by his old band Magnolia Electric Co., before following it up with a sweet rendition of Bob Dylan’s It Ain’t Me Babe. It’s a lovely touch on a night when it really feels as if the evidently conscientious Morby is going the extra mile to make up for last year’s no-show – in the end, he was worth the wait.