Hannah Lou Clark was first on stage along with her beautiful sugar-sweet voice and her raw sounding electric guitar. Unfortunately the venue speakers were slightly distorting throughout her set, but the sound tech seemed to get a hang of things by the next act. Asides from that Hannah produced a great lo-fi sound. My first impressions of Hannah was a sound that brilliantly mixed PJ Harvey with Sharron Von Etten, something you could definitely hear when she played my favourite of the set, ‘Silent Type’. My expectations were somewhat lowered when songs like ‘Kids In Heat’ started. As much as it is an exquisitely constructed song on the EP, live it sounded like 101 other pop songs out there and lacked the interesting edge or intensity of her other tracks. Maybe my hatred for chart drivel is jading my views a little, as the audience loved her and were hanging off every word she sang.
 
Lloyd Williams came on stage complaining that he was doing the dryathlon, and wasn’t able to drink some Dutch courage before performing. Nothing seemed to be amiss as he was chatty and hilarious throughout. On stage, Lloyd was equipped with a banjo, an acoustic guitar, a pump accordion that was played with his right foot, and an electric bass pedal on his left foot. His unusual guitar style and soft vocal conveyed an astonishingly powerful folk, which was sensitive yet haunting at the same time. Not long into the set Lloyd said, “If you don’t like the banjo, it’s a good time to go for a cigarette” – no chance of that as the crowd were mesmerised. His new album ‘Time’, produced and mixed by the legendary John Wood, is a compelling and angelic listen. No wonder there is much a buzz about Lloyd Williams in the folk world, as there is no doubt he’s a special talent.
 
A crammed crowd were bubbling with anticipation for the homecoming gig of the Gaps. The duo were both originally drummers, but when old school friends Rachel and Ed started sharing musical ideas, the Gaps were born, conjuring up an ethereal minimalistic electro-folk that sounds like it should only be listened to at night. In a dark room with only enough light to see the affect pedals on the floor, Ed and Rachel were separated by visual projections that worked perfectly with the music, and I mean perfectly, never missing a beat and hypnotising the audience into an eerie sombre state. This gave a great flow to their set, with each track seamlessly merging into the next. Ed was in control of a drum machine, beat pad, synth and keys, with Rachel playing a steal guitar along with an assortment of pedals and her glorious voice was delicate, emotive and a real highlight. The audience erupted with applause after the final song, letting out their admiration after an hour of music that could have continued forever. There is no doubt that this band is on the up, and after hearing more of their musical catalogue, their debut album (out March) should be fantastic.