The Black Heart Procession

Pall Jenkins needs no five-piece band to fill the room presented before him this evening; a room full of faces beaming, of necks arching impossibly to get a better look at what’s unfolding on ‘stage’. Pall Jenkins needs no “Hello”, he needs no polite introductory prologue to proceedings. Pall Jenkins, Black Heart Procession founder, needs nothing but an intimate hush and a single strum, one that metaphysically knocks us for the count; one that, as it fades, leaves us dazed but far from confused.

That said, what initially cuts is the stripped-back aspect of tonight’s event – a showcase of sorts for the band’s forthcoming fifth long-player, The Spell. The Black Heart Procession pierce chests and cradle hearts most excellently when their full sound is allowed to penetrate senses absolutely overwhelmed by such stirring compositional craft. When their full grandeur is allowed airspace, few bands on the indie-rock planet can touch them; their poise is masterful, their precision peerless. Yet when delivered devoid of such textural richness, the likes of ‘Not Just Words’ and ‘The Letter’ seem a little – and pardon such relative negativity – limp. Had the songs’ studio renderings matched what’s delivered tonight, there’d be nothing to feel any disappointment over; as we’re acutely aware that all we’re getting are the songs’ cores, it’s hard for attentions not to occasionally wander: barwards, doorwards?

Of course we stay: Jenkins’ at-the-microphone persona is a magnet for every eye and ear contained herein. The walls soon coat with condensation, the night’s onset cooling the building's exterior, but still we stare, many at nothing more than the back of a stranger’s head, such is the attendance. The strange, ghostly noises and graceful piano lines sink in, deep, leaving impressions remarkable even without the fleshed-out versions to praise. When the time comes for departure, the uninitiated attendees – tonight is a free show – bear the look of the suitably impressed. Come the band’s ATP showing, there’s likely to be nothing metaphorical about these songs’ impact.