Nerina Pallot (London)

It starts with a drum and it begins. Exuberantly. Her band bedecked in sharp black suits, Nerina Pallot strides onto the stage in a blue frock, fishnets and massive heels. What with her name written in pink neon in the background and fairy lights draped over the keyboard, the scene is unquestionably ‘50s Lounge Bar.

Entirely apt, then, that the night’s special treat is a brand new song written in the lounge style - a genre detested by the man it’s directed at. But such a woman is Nerina Pallot; a raconteuse whose humour underpins her method; an English graduate who turns an evening at the ‘poncy’ ICA into a potty-mouthed 8-year-old’s birthday party. It’s this intelligence, this constant subversion, which makes her so engaging as a performer.

Of course, having a glorious voice also helps. From rollicking show opener ‘The Right Side’ to the chilling near-silence of ‘It Was Me’ in the encore, Pallot demonstrates a range that spans from Minnie Ripperton to Laura Nyro to even Elton John, in a 3-track tribute of a finale.

It’s a shame that debut album ‘Dear Frustrated Superstar’ is entirely unrepresented, but that’s a minor complaint. With songs about love, depression, God (or the lack thereof) and digressions about the importance of good grammar, a night with Nerina Pallot is a birthday party everybody would want to be invited to.



The ICA, London, 22nd October 2009.

Written by Polis Loizou.