Gig review: Justin Townes Earle/Warren McIntyre & The Starry Skies; Glasgow ABC

By SUE WILSON
Published on 05/09/2012 01:01

Part of Glasgow’s Americana-themed No Mean City festival, this sellout show featured one of that sprawling genre’s most celebrated younger talents, Justin Townes Earle (son of Steve), with strong and adroitly contrasting local support.

Starry Skies, the latest Glaswegian line-up to be helmed by former Moondials/Whiteout/Ducks vocalist Warren McIntyre, released their debut album Ask the Animals earlier this year. There were nine of them here all told, with guitars, bass and drums embellished by fiddle, trumpet and multi-layered backing vocals, although an ill-defined PA mix did the ensemble sound few favours, while McIntyre’s distinctively weathered yet lambent vocals were insufficiently foregrounded throughout.

An appealingly magpie-minded bunch of songs ranged from the mournfully anthemic Disappear in Darkness to the cheerily catchy guitar-pop of Let Love Come Back to You; from the Chuck Berry echoes of How Many? to the sweetly lovelorn Now Comes Autumn.

Earle’s new album – following the accolades heaped on its predecessor, Harlem River Blues – is Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now, which contines its author’s freebooting exploration of US roots music, this time revisiting and reinforcing the links between country and Southern soul.

Sharply backed by his three-piece band, the suave, slinky Memphis in the Rain and the seductively imploring Look the Other Way were among the highlights in this vein, complemented by a couple of solo numbers, piquantly freighted with dustbowl-era echoes, and more introspective material like the achingly heartsore Rogers Park. Again, though, Earle’s vocals were too low in the mix, precluding full appreciation of his finely calibrated lyrics and delivery.

Rating: * *