If a combination of southern gothic, country pop and punk can exist in harmony, there could be nowhere better to catch it than at Mattiel’s performance at the Cluny this Tuesday gone. Another American to brave the great Atlantic leap over to the Cluny, Anita Mattiel Brown – Mattiel to fans - brought a bucket load of Americana melancholy and as much style as would fit in her suitcase. On the strength of her powerful and at times haunting vocals, a backing band was not required and scarcely missed. Though an unnamed instrumentalist did provide a little backing from amongst the dust and drama of her background visuals - horses and gunslingers pulled straight from the work of Sergio Leone. Maybe it was Ennio Morricone… Brown’s lyrics, however, left no tumbleweeds rolling across the stage, with a right mix of flirtatiousness and mystery that resounded long after the show was over. Supporting for the night was the incongruously-paired-at-first-glance-but-actually-made-a-lot-of-sense Joep Meyer, A.K.A Cosmic Crooner. The Netherlands’ much funnier and somewhat odder answer to Alex Turner swaggered around the stage like a stand-up comedian, dropping Bowie-esque gems between offhand punchlines and proving that not only can the Cosmic Crooner croon, he can get an audience laughing. Meyer’s own strange brand of humour served as an appetizer for the more serious and moody main performance, and all in all the two delivered an unusual and refreshing night of music that not only intrigued but entertained. I would encourage anyone in a musical dryspell to check these two oddballs out.

Tom Livesey