It now has to be nigh on a decade since I first had the pleasure of catching Charles Watson in concert. He was then one half of a band called Slow Club alongside Rebecca Taylor, currently of Self Esteem fame. The occasion was the inaugural – and sadly what turned out to be the only – No Direction Home festival set in the northern reaches of Sherwood Forest and not a million miles from the duo’s then Sheffield base. By that time Slow Club were already some six years into a critically acclaimed career. Over the next couple of years, I saw them again at both Latitude and Deer Shed festivals, their performance at the latter early on the Sunday afternoon under canvas still stands out for me as one of the greatest in the history of that event as Watson and Taylor, supported admirably by Fyfe Dangerfield of Guillemots, created a stunningly perfect blend of indie, pop, and soul that reinforced the life-affirming powers of live music. But by the time of their appearance at 2016’s Live at Leeds tensions were surfacing and cracks beginning to appear. It then came as no little surprise when Slow Club folded not so long thereafter.
Charles Watson quickly filled the creative void left by the loss of Slow Club. Within a year-or-so he had not only released his debut solo album, Now That I’m a River – delicately crafted melodic, melancholic pop – he also joined forces with Dave Tattersall and Franic Rozycki from The Wave Pictures, and drummer Dominic Brider to form The Surfing Magazines with their infectious blend of late 60’s West Coast rock, surf, and off-kilter pop. Charles Watson is nothing if not versatile.
My own music festival experiences with Charles Watson continued unabated, first catching him produce a quite blistering set upon his return to Deer Shed in 2019 and then on the Mountain Stage with The Surfing Magazines at last year’s Green Man. It is therefore rather unusual for me to be going to see him in an indoor venue and at some other time than an afternoon. The change of location and time of day clearly has no adverse impact upon Watson’s ability to produce some supreme music. He is now three dates into a UK tour supporting Matthew E. White, the Virginian singer, songwriter, producer and arranger, a man with whom Watson has had a long-standing connection not least with Slow Club having recorded their final studio album One Day All Of This Won’t Matter at White’s Space Bomb studio back in 2016 with the in-house band.
Charles Watson will release his second solo album Yes on the 29th of April via Moshi Moshi Records and he features no less than five songs from it here tonight. But it is to last November’s ‘Afghan Hound’ he goes, to begin with. The first new music from him since 2018’s Now That I’m a River, it serves as a perfect bridge between his two solo albums. Anchored solely by Rob Jones’ drums, Watson’s songs acquire a far simpler more spartan sound, allowing the rich and occasionally dark purity of his words to breathe. The first song from the forthcoming record that Watson plays this evening, ‘Reared In The West’ confirms his ear for a good tune and the fact that his creative momentum continues to abound. ‘I Was Sent Here To Love You’ is a beautifully tender ballad and ‘Figure Skater’ – the first single to be taken from Yes – is pure pristine pop and in any just musical world would surely be riding high in the charts.
Charles Watson invests ‘All My Mountains’ with a wonderfully funky groove before he and Rob Jones do supreme justice to ‘Voices Carry Through The Mist’, complete with delightfully wonky guitar breaks. It is a song that has seen the previous action on both the respective Watson and The Surfing Magazine debut albums and is not remotely out of place here in its more stripped-back form. Jones departs the stage to leave Charles Watson alone with his guitar for the last, and arguably the best number of the night. ‘Spectator Sports’ affirms Watson’s skill at evoking soul-searching poignancy. “You’ll Never Know That You Saved My Life” brings a sense of memory and rebirth to perfect realisation.
Charles Watson is back out on tour in England and Wales in September. Miss him at your peril.
Photos: Simon Godley
A few more photos from this show are HERE
