The other night I went to see a lady called Nell Bryden (left, click image to enlarge) sing some songs. I went with my big old cynical head on, not least due to the relentless PR blitz surrounding her, which has recently tended to focus on:
1. The fact that she has funded her music career after finding a Milton Avery painting in her attic. It was worth considerably more than some mildewed christmas tree decorations, let’s put it that way.
2. The fact that she was recently selected to go out and “entertain the troops” in Iraq.
Now those two facts, while interesting, created in my mind the vision of Nell as a good ol’ heart-clutching simperer, and therefore not my cup of beverage at all.
All of which was efficiently blown away on seeing her perform.

Photos of her these days tend to make her look a bit winsome, but Nell has TATTOOS. I spotted one on her shoulder and one on her ankle. Nice ones though, we’re not talking big fire-breathing dragons or anything.
Also, if I may delve into my big bag of music cliches for a moment, she’s a little bit country, a little bit rock ‘n’ roll. Songs like the frisky “Late Night Call” and the yearn-y “From Midnight On” show she’s not shy of expressing her sex-y-ality, while elsewhere there’s an ode to a victim of Hurricane Katrina (not as mawkish as you fear) and the jazz-tinged shuffle of current single “Second Time Around”.
At this point it’s probably worth mentioning The Voice. I’m not one for perfection really – I’ll forgive numerous bum notes if there’s charisma and passion to compensate. Nell Bryden manages to combine both those qualities alongside a flawless voice, which, although it has a limited range, demands your attention.
The show ended with a couple of covers – Nell minus her band doing a version of Elvis’s “If I Can Dream”, and then a rousing full band reworking of “The House Of The Rising Sun”.
As my wide-eyed friend remarked – and like me, he’s not known for his liking of Radio 2-friendly country-rock – “I don’t know how anybody could have not enjoyed that.”
At this point I’ll post the video to “Second Time Around”, although as another cliche goes it doesn’t really do her live performance justice. I fear the same may be said of her album, but I’ve yet to hear it so maybe I should just shut up.
Hear more of her stuff at MySpace and her official website. Her album Second Time Around comes out 24th November.

Nell Bryden – Second Time Around-Nell Bryden DVD on MUZU.
[video: Muzu.tv]
[image: Scott Gilbert Photography]

Posted by Stuart Waterman on Friday November 14th, 2008 at 11:26 am