Dan Croll seems an artist whose rise to prominence over the last couple of years has been accompanied, at every turn, by sensational hype. Not everyone is aware of his stuff – most will recognise the “song that started it all” ‘From Nowhere’ – but those who have faithfully followed the exciting beginnings of what is sure to be a long and diverse career in music, are nothing short of devoted to the 24-year-old singer-songwriter from Staffordshire.
From the off, Croll has garnered a great deal of attention: winning the national Songwriter of the Year award whilst at LIPA; having one-to-one sessions with Sir Paul McCartney; being featured on global gaming soundtracks such as FIFA 14 and GTA V – all before even releasing his first record Sweet Disarray in March of this year. A packed-out Rescue Rooms showed up on Wednesday night to find out, once and for all, what all the fuss is about.
Nottingham’s very own singer-songwriter, Frankie Rudolf, opened the evening with his melodic, folky style to the pleased, head-nodding reaction of the gathering crowd. Rudolf, as leader of a three-piece, produces an authoritative set – the highlight being the title-track from his 2012 EP Heart On Fire, which has now received over 70,000 plays on Spotify. Armed with an acoustic guitar, the chilled, melancholy waves suggest a similarity to artists such as Ben Howard, particularly in his vocal style, and whilst he still has a way to go in terms of the technicality of his work, his promise is reflected in the attention he has already received at such a young age.
With a sudden change of tone, the New York based quartet Panama Wedding took to the stage to provide a rousing set of their lively synth-pop, which, much like established artists such as Haim, builds on the popularity of 80’s revival to deliver a joyfully upbeat and infectiously pulsing sound. The group, formed from the computer-based solo work of frontman Peter Kirk before expanding into the multi-instrumentalist four-piece we see today, have grown in status across the pond this summer after the success of their EP Parallel Play. Tracks such as ‘All of the People’ and ‘Una’ exemplify the direction of their feel-good, boppy motif – one which they evidently wish to impress upon the British public during their supporting tour with Dan Croll. The response was visibly a receptive one – if at first unsure, the dancing and rapturous applause of the crowd as the set came to a close confirmed the deserved popularity of Panama Wedding.
As the big glasses and bouncing mop of Dan Croll emerge from the darkness, he and his “boys” waste no time in launching into ‘Compliment Your Soul’ to the roaring response of his audience. This followed by ‘Thinkin Aboutchu’ and ‘In/Out’, explores immediately the bursting, diverse range of sounds and abilities that Croll demonstrates throughout Sweet Disarray. The translation of this to the stage is as impressive as Croll’s repertoire itself – the electronic beats, the alluring guitar hooks, the catchy choruses; all this sounds as good, if not fuller and more dynamic, when experienced live.
It becomes clear why the comparison between he and Paul Simon is drawn almost to the point of incessancy – the atmosphere is jovial, vibrant, soulful, and the crowd doesn’t stop moving throughout. Croll’s golden-boy of the moment reputation appears not to faze him either – there is no pretension in his stage persona, as he engages frequently and cheerfully with his band and audience. Upon asking if the crowd had enjoyed Panama Wedding, he admits that he had actually missed their set tonight – he was busy re-watching ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ in the back with his band. When pressed for his reasoning, he shrugs and mutters something about Keira Knightly.
The heat in the room, acknowledged as much by the band as the crowd, is not enough to deter a delighted response to the other big-hitters such as ‘From Nowhere’ and ‘Home’, the latter enticing a sing-a-long from the crowd before a dancing crescendo to see the quintet off the stage. After his reappearance, the encore is closed with a stripped-back, mellow performance of the album’s title-track, in which the quality of Croll’s craftwork is displayed through ethereal melodies and soulful three-part vocal harmonies.
Already, it is clear that Dan Croll knows a thing or two about putting on a show – the set as a whole is as well constructed as are his songs. It would take a conceited view to suggest that this is an artist not worthy of the attention he has received to date; it is clear he will move from strength to strength from here.
James Noble
James is listening to ‘If The Good Lord Had Intended Us To Walk, He Wouldn’t Have Invented Roller Skates’ by Blakfish
Images: Riot Photography, CMJ & Never Enough Notes
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