I went to see BC Camplight a couple of nights ago, the artist who kicks off this months playlist is touring his wonderful and rather well received new album ‘The Last Rotation Of Earth’ as a solo performer, the BC Camplight live experience reduced to a charismatic if rather troubled singer, a piano and a box of breakfast cereal on a table. I do not know if this is motivated by stringent financing limitations or a more artistic concern? The latter is surely a significant factor as earlier this year the man known to his fans as Brian attributed the lack of conventional videos accompanying this new material to a desire for listeners to focus solely on the music. That seems a wise move to me for these songs are built with real depth, they are many layered beasts pumping with the raw emotion of a recent relationship break up, the existential anxiety thrown up by the modern world and parceled up into a kneading mass of prowling melodies and cascading chord progressions. These are fantastic songs rising from a dark place that the singer still appears to be on first name terms with and they positively sparkle in this stripped back setting.

If that all sounds a bit bleak and heavy going, then think again for Brian is so comfortable on stage slicing open the veins of his music that he can happily make self-lacerating jokes and even cut in mid song to reprimand himself for slipping into a Jools Holland boogie-woogie-like lick on the keys. He shows expert comic timing too when introducing a song by questioning how some people have suggested it is based on an older song before launching into the opening of Elton John’s ‘Your Song.’ He does play the piano really well actually, using it correctly as a proper lead instrument rather than merely holding down basic chords. It turns out that he has not even brought an instrument out on the road, the pianos are either belonging to the particular venue or leant out from a friend. I even spotted him when I arrived at the pub venue, crossing the road in the same direction as me casually looking like a man heading for a night out downing ales and throwing a few darts. It turns out he has booked himself into a room at another pub over the road and the thought occurs, surely a few more musicians could follow this low-cost touring model? Just busk it a bit, take the pressure off and even put the sense of adventure back into the touring experience? There was talk in the crowd tonight of this latest BC Camplight album being his swansong, I sincerely hope that does not come to pass. This is an artist capable of summoning all of music’s honest, brutal magic with his archly detailed, fleetingly funny, sometimes dreamy and always magnetic songs of rage and hurt.