Jenny Wilson @ Beck'sVerandah, Perth (17/2/2007)

Tue 20th Feb, 2007 in Gig Reviews

When an artist’s debut album is titled Love and Youth, you can expect warm, fuzzy feelings when you walk out of their show; Beck’s Verandah was certainly filled with a lot of love on Saturday night as Jenny Wilson and her band played a delightful set of songs “all the way from icy Sweden”.

Entering the stage in bright, pinstriped costumes, managing to look both retro and futuristic, the audience knew they were in for something a little different. That is just what they got, as Wilson and her band – Sara Wilson (guitar), Andreas Söderström (bass) and Lina Selleby (keys, glockenspiel) - combined haunting vocal harmonies with foot-tapping disco beats to create some exciting pop music. It took a few songs for the band to look comfortable on stage, yet Ms Wilson herself was quite at home from the opening chords, dancing and smiling and completely enamoured with her audience. A few songs in she called for light on the crowd, who waved and grinned while Sara Wilson took the opportunity to snap a photo, before the band launched into Summertime – The Roughest Time, much to the crowd’s delight.

But it was the more upbeat Let My Shoes Lead Me Forward that lifted the night, with the whole band livening up and the chattering crowd quietening down. Feet started tapping and hands started clapping, just in time for Ms Wilson to announce her last song. Thankfully it didn’t take much to bring her back onto the stage and over to the keyboard to commence her encore. Once her band rejoined her on stage her fans were treated to the title track of her album; Love and Youth; before a song described as “a hymn to Swedish winter” brought the night to an end. On the weekend after Valentine’s Day this talented Swedish girl gave her Perth fans something else to fall in love with. With her sparkling melodies and innocent yet haunting lyrics,you would be hard pressed to find anyone who left without feeling loved and in love. But isn’t that the point of good pop music after all?