It was a quiet night at King Tuts in Glasgow. Perhaps it is just early on a lazy Sunday evening for the partying folk drained from the weekend's excursions into pleasure land. Regardless of that, those in search of a delightful voice in the style of the acoustic folk musician met their objective that night, with Jenny Owen Youngs, David House, and local Scottish talent Y'all is Fantasy Island.
Under the watchful eye of a Snoop Dogg doll that sat on top of the guitarist's amp, these four Scottish fellas started off with a quiet rock set that was laced with the dark lyrics of small town separation. But these lyrics are hidden in between the chords of Y'all is Fantasy Island's folk rock style. Vocalist Adam Stafford fired off rhyming confessions about family and girls in 'Handclaps" where he managed to pull off rhyming "dubious" with "furious". But there are plenty of more expressive lyrics that get revealed in quieter songs like "Flowers and Flesh". The set was quiet, relaxed, and entirely appropriate for the relatively small crowd who ventured out catch this band.
More indie folk came to the fore as Dave House left the merchandise table and hit the stage with his confessional take on acoustic folk music. With a voice like John K. Samson of The Weakerthans, and a style that ranged from chipper, to wishful and to humorous, House put together a very personal performance. His happy, romantic side shone through in "You are My Frequency", and his tribute to the music scene - "Old Girl Back" - earned a few chuckles with the line "When you told me you liked the Klaxons, I just had to briefly walk away." "The Scottish Coast" deserved mention for its soft and calming words. His voice was strong, and House was able to take advantage of the small audience by often stepping away from the micrphone and singing on his own. Each time, his voice was remained genuine and packed with clarity and with a volume that soared over his guitar picking.
Jenny Owen Youngs kept the theme of the night going by playing a very precise and personal list of songs for her first Scottish audience. "Lightning Rod" played softly to a supportive audience and captured us in the silence of twilight, as Jenny sang devotionally with her eyes closed. Things truly picked up as she delivered an awesome rendition of "Drinking Song" and then the jumpy and excitable take of "Porchrail". She then called Dave House to the stage to join her, and the two six string seducers pumped out Jenny's popular "Fuck Was I". House stuck around for a couple more tunes as a backing support but left Owen Youngs on her own for 'Woodcut" and, of course, her flirtatious acoustic cover of Nelly's "Hot in Here" that closed the show on a high, energetic note. With her charged voice, layered with lots of fine finger picking and great song writing, Jenny is up there in the company of Cat Power and Regina Spektor, and is able to include a classy, country feel reminiscent of Jolie Holland. Definitely another fine piece of true talent to watch.