It’s true to say that posh Imogen is as mad as a box of frogs – think Joyce Grenfell with a laptop and you’ve got the idea – and she sets the tone early on, twittering away as she fiddles away aimlessly with the impressive bank of electronic gadgets she employs instead of a live band. Now, there’s no doubt that Imogen has a fantastic voice with a stunning range and some great ideas. But she really needs a band to give it some warmth and a bit of the editing that other musicians do for talented - but ill-disciplined - artists like Heap. The opening minutes set the tone as she decided to start with an amazingly complicated a cappella version of Just For Now in which she accompanies herself via a delay. It was amazingly good but only after excruciating minutes tick by as she twiddled knobs and pushed buttons. In fairness, she did acknowledge ruefully that it was ‘the first date of the tour.’ After a few numbers, Imogen did introduce a mate on cello but sadly, this wonderfully expressive instrument is drowned out by the electronica, except on the fabulous Hide and Seek – which OC fans will be very familiar with – where it all comes together beautifully. I love proper eccentrics like Imogen and on Headlock, she does prove she has an ear for a commercial tune, but in the final analysis, she mistakes virtuosity for inspiration. If she is really serious about the live experience, then she needs to harness her remarkable voice and clever ideas to the anchor of some breathing musicians and then we’ll see if she can get to the top of the heap.
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