Jane Weaver arrived at The Haunt after an incredible couple of years. Not only did she release her best album, The Silver Globe, in 2014 but she followed it up with two of her best. Her latest release, Modern Kosmology, is a wonderful foray into psychedelic-pop with influences from science fiction film soundtracks and 20th century spiritualism. Her show at The Haunt leaned heavily on her latest record and it can’t be called anything less than a triumph, showcasing an artist at the top of her game.

Support on the night came from Edwin Stevens’ project, Irma Vep. Seemingly named after the 1996 Olivier Assayas’ French genre flick, the two-piece combine chilled out, psychedelic-folk music mixed with a little bit of country. Playing in support of debut album, No Handshake Blues, the duo's best song of the night was ‘It Runs Slow’ which sounds like a later Velvet Underground offering with Stevens’ deadpan vocal delivery channelling Lou Reed.

Opening with the first four songs from Modern Kosmology, it appeared that Weaver wanted to take the crowd on a cinematic pop journey. ‘H>A>K’, named after artist Hilma af Klint (a huge inspiration for the album) is a synth-heavy romp which turned The Haunt into some sort of science fiction nightclub. The crowd, the majority of whom looked like they’d followed Weaver throughout her career, gave her a hero’s welcome. Following that up with ‘Did You See Butterflies?’, ‘Modern Kosmology’ and ‘Slow Motion’ showcased her lavishly melodic, trim and fat-free style of psychedelic-pop revival.

Throughout, the night has the feeling of a space ship that is approaching take-off through unrelenting synthesised pulses. Old song ‘Mission Desire’ sees Weaver strutting across the stage, crooning to the crowd, while latest single ‘The Architect’ is arguably the catchiest song of the night. Demonstrating Depeche Mode’s art-rock sensibilities with Weaver’s trademark cut-glass vocals, this one will be spinning on BBC 6 Music for a very long time.

Modern Kosmology final track, ‘I Wish’, sends the crowd into a frenzy of dancing. It must be said that the album is a lot less contrived and a lot more dancey live than on record. ‘Don’t Take My Soul’, arguably Weaver’s biggest hit, is a slice of modern indie-pop in the vein of Hot Chip or Goldfrapp. However, it’s the seven-minute long ‘I Need a Connection’ that is the highlight of the night. The Silver Globe cut, with its pulsating beats and ethereal guitar reverb, is the closest song of the set to the krautrock-inspired influences that many critics allude to.

Ending on brand new song, ‘Element’, which is the B-side to ‘The Architect’, shows the confidence of Weaver and why shouldn’t she be confident? She is something of an icon. From this set alone you can see the stamp she’s made on the industry. ‘Don’t Take My Soul’ sounds like the joyous mid-00s pop of La Roux; title track ‘Modern Kosmology’ sounds like something conjured up by psychedelic-pop band Temples and ‘I Need a Connection’ must have been an influence on up-and-coming Liverpool psych band, The Vryll Society. Weaver is arguably the most consistent, most influential artist since the millennium and she rocked The Haunt in front of her loyal, adoring fans.

Liam McMillen

Website: janeweavermusic.com
Facebook: facebook.com/janeweavermusic
Twitter: twitter.com/JanelWeaver

Read our recent interview with Jane Weaver here: https://brightonsfinest.com/html/index.php/new-music-interviews/2980-jane-weaver-interview-2017
Read our review of Modern Kosmology: https://brightonsfinest.com/html/index.php/music/2474-jane-weaver-modern-kosmology