Sarabeth Tucek would probably be aligned in the Alt rock come lo-fi genre category and arrived in my hometown on the final day of an eighteen-date tour of the UK with a few bumps along the way with a couple of shows having to be postponed. Sarabeth goes under the new moniker SBT, which is a long-time nickname given to her by the many musicians she has worked with throughout her career.
This artist was raised in New York and has recently released a new album with `Joan of All` her first for over a decade. She has toured the UK this time with a band recruited in the UK that includes Rhii Williams on drums, Charlie Fitzgerald on bass, Ryan Rogers on Keys & guitar, and Luther Russell on guitar.
The quintet arrived on stage and for the next seventy to seventy-five minutes kind of mesmerise this intimate audience with the whole of the latest release in sequential order. The show begins with `Joan Says / Amber Shade` which veers from almost inaudible intensity to a more challenging bravado all in the space of six minutes. `Cathy Says` is nigh on anguish ridden but `The Gift` has a kind of retro trippy upbeat sensitivity.
`The Box` follows and is drum and bass led and full of maternal relationship issues, while `Work` is more ethereal. `Make Up Your Mind` is delightful in its rawness with some captivating percussive like beats and contrasts with `13th Street #1` or #2 that has a Lou Reed spoken word vibe and is a much more robust offering.
There`s a really introspective feel to `Swings` and `Happiness` appears fairly similar but maybe more self-analytical and becomes fairly surreal and “out there” as it evolves. There`s a dreaminess about `Something / Anything` whereas `Sheep` was kaleidoscopic or slightly psychedelic. `The Tunnel` to me felt like a weird journey of sorts as it stopped and started and changed direction on route. The penultimate number `Unmade / The Dog` was similar but much more compelling and became almost hypnotic.
The show closed out with `Creature of the Night` with its tinkling piano keys that ensured there was a stark beauty about it.
The show was pretty overwhelming and it`s only now twenty-four hours later that I can maybe dissect and appreciate it`s potency. The emotions shared throughout this evening`s performance careered from an acute sense of vulnerability to a nigh on detached stream of consciousness. It had a gentle and brutal openness at times but remained thoroughly engaging.
I`m still contemplating, positively what I observed and participated in and am sure I will be for some time to come.