Loyle Carner was in town on Tuesday night for his national tour after the release of his latest album ‘hugo’. His performance was intimate, memorable, and charged with emotion. The result? A seriously enjoyable evening.
The London rapper released ‘hugo’ in October 2022, and to say it has been received positively would be understatement to say the least. With The Guardian describing it as a “beautiful, blistering masterpiece”, the critically acclaimed album is a deep and personal dive into Carner’s own struggles with identity, race, forgiveness and family.
After the success of several albums and EP’s, Birmingham born rapper Wesley Joseph has certainly earned his place supporting Carner on his tour.
With a talented vocal range and impressively produced tracks, Joseph made a fantastic supporting act. His song ‘Ghostin’ demonstrated both of these qualities over a catchy hook. It was a solid performance that added to the anticipation in the most positive way.
Now it was time for the main event of the evening. With the lights dimming and orchestral vocals of the song ‘Hate’ filling the room, the crowd came alive – what an opening song! Carner running onto the stage felt like a boxer entering the ring. You could feel the excitement radiating from the crowd as each lyric was echoed back to Carner with just as much energy.
As ‘Hate’ came to a close, the venue was filled with cheers and chants of ‘Loyle Carner’, lasting for a number of minutes. Carner soaked it all in, thanked the crowd, and then proceeded onto the next track, ‘plastic’.
The jazz-influenced beat of ‘plastic’ sounded as good as expected on the live instruments, with the bass and drums perfectly complementing Carner’s lyrics on identity and personal values.
Carner did not neglect his old albums, with crowd favourites from his earlier discography throughout his set. The piano chords and Jorja Smith’s vocals cut out completely in ‘Loose Ends’, leaving Carner reciting verses acapella, before the lyrics slowly transformed into the opening of ‘Ice Water’ as the band joined in.
These two tracks are from his previous album, ‘Not Waving but Drowning’, and neither felt out of place amongst his newer stuff.
Naturally, all three albums complement each other in unique ways. They are noticeably different as you can tell he has matured between each release, yet the songs all flow together seamlessly.
Between the years of his recent albums, Carner has become a dad to a son. He paid special tribute to his two-year-old by dedicating to him one of the slower tracks of the night, ‘Homerton’.
Carner’s deep, emotive lyrics come into play on the track ‘Blood On My Nikes’. In the song he talks about race and being exposed to violence as a teenager.
Finishing the song, he brought on Athian Akec, a writer and activist, to recite the speech he delivered to the House of Commons back in 2019 on the devastating societal impacts of knife crime. Atek’s final line stuck out, current and poignant: “Never has so much been lost by so many, due to the indecision of so few”.
As the gig was finishing, Carner took a break from the music to tell a heartfelt story about forgiving his biological dad over a series of driving lessons, which was his main source of inspiration for the album ‘hugo’. As the story of his dad came to its end and Carner urged the crowd to forgive and ‘move forward’, the isolated piano of ‘HGU’ began to play.
The emotional track was the perfect closer to an equally emotional show. As the song came to an end, each member on stage disappeared behind the back curtain.
However, as before, chants and cheers lasted for minutes until the stage lights turned on for the last time and Carner returned, smiling at the energetic crowd.
I’m pretty sure everyone knew what was to come, and when the distinguishable notes of ‘Ottolenghi’ came from the speakers, the crowd once again erupted.
A well known fan-favourite, Carner barely needed to sing the words as the whole crowd sung them back to him. And as the song finished, the room went silent as Carner performed one last poem on his personal beliefs and struggles as an artist.
This is the second time I have seen Loyle Carner now, and it is evident how much not just his music but himself has matured in the space of three years. Loyle has mastered the art of exploring difficult topics from multiple angles and his live performances encompass all his best attributes as an artist.
