Georgie James

Georgie James are hopelessly positioned in the UK market. An American blues-pop band on a small, independent, American label, they don’t fit into any comfortable media niche. They’re not cool enough for the trendy magazines; they’re not heavy enough for the metal rags.

So it’s little wonder that on this brief visit to London, a passionate audience is hard to come by. To make matters worse, it’s an ice-cold Sunday night in Brixton, and there are three other bands to labour through before Georgie James appear. While elfin keyboardist Laura Burhenn sits elegantly, waiting her turn on stage, frontman John Davis has been spotted roaming gloomily through the venue. You’d almost think he doesn’t want to be here. Fancy that.

It’s unclear whether it’s normal Georgie James practice for Davis to look so miserable on stage - you’d have to ask a more seasoned veteran of their shows - but it jars. This is fun-loving music that makes you want to tap and shimmy, and it’s really trying hard to lift the mood, but without encouragement from the band, it takes rather longer than expected for warmth to fill the room. It’s left to Burhenn to ask everyone to come closer to the stage - with a quick glance at Davis to make sure he isn’t going to lamp us, we do - and ultimately she steals the show, smiling at the friendly heckles and unleashing a belting vocal.

Where on earth is it coming from? There’s nothing of the woman. On their album, Places, she sounds relatively weak and lo-fi, lazily sliding off notes, yet in here her voice is rich and powerful, turning ‘Cheap Champagne’ into a minor revelation, and on their cover of The Zombies’ ‘This Will Be Our Year’, she sounds like Fiona Apple.

Davis is equally proficient, ploughing through a sumptuous set of infectious choruses, and finally cracking a smile when he reveals that he’s looking forward to the Super Bowl later in the night. The warmth has arrived, and regrets are washed away. Yes, it was worth coming; yes, we’ll spread the word. Maybe our media will catch on soon.