As an observer, of sorts, the more accumulated knowledge you have of an artist before a show, generally the better. Yet, sometimes the power such knowledge carries can blur, obstruct and effectively determine ones viewpoint before a show has even begun. Miss Allen, a constant figure in the tabloids, has become (like so many) more known for her social life than her professional one.
A spring tour brings her to The Brighton Dome and gives her a chance to prove that any original success received from great tracks like “Smile” and “LDN” was not in vain. A crowd – more varied than even record sales suggest – watched this lady skip about the stage, hands waving, whilst she blurted noise from her pink ‘Kaoscillator’ (‘it technology’ that allows the user to play selected samples at varying tempos). Her Laa’nden accent spun straight into the track “Honest” from her second album release “It’s Not Me, It’s You”, and to be ‘honest’ (ouch) it worked. Holding firm her flagship witticisms and brass commentary of modern youth culture, her songs – although widely argued as too similar to previous releases – seem motivated by a simplistic pop motif. This, if not much else, is refreshing.
At times it felt like The Dome did a Friday night karaoke special as she graced Calvin Harris, Take That and Kaiser Chiefs, plus various other pop with her lily-ism. In fact, if aliens wanted to get a grasp of current British pop acts we’d save a hell of a lot of petrol just sending this one! Vocally, it was evident that her backing track was on form that evening yet it wasn’t until the end that we got a glimpse of the girl that has injected a healthy dose of realism into our charts with the performance of her latest single “The Fear”.
Words by Tom Sargeant
Photography by Paul Mulley
