MUSIC REVIEW: Kate Tempest @ Edinburgh Leith Theatre

Kate Tempest has the stage presence of a prophet, combine this with her unmatched command over words results in one of the most impassioned and energizing shows you could see. Marking her debut at the Edinburgh International Festival Kate delivered a set filled with rage, empathy and heartbreak, with cracks of hope scattered in between.

A red moon looms over Kate on the stage as she charges relentlessly opening her set with the unapologetic Europe is Lost. The set is drenched with the very best of her Mercury Prize nominated words, with her older material being musically refined with a much more aggressive and urgent sound. Track The Beigeness from her debut is arguably one of her most danceable songs with its bouncing rhythms and softer beats, however on the stage the music is punishing adding an urgency to the once tamer track. All this wouldn’t be possible without Clare Uchima joining Kate on the stage, playing keyboard and mixing on the stage like an apocalyptic DJ.

Absorbed by the lies and social unrest that has been brought on by Brexit Britain Three Sided Coin sees Kate pull the vail on the politicians she feels responsible. While at the same time Holy Elixir has Kate questioning and contradicting herself as she explores the senselessness of protest climaxing with electronic wizardry from Uchima of orchestral proportions. Though politics is a mainstay in the Kate Tempest manifesto it does not dictate the evening. The exploration of relationships, ecstasy of new love and the evaporation of passion in old love is a prevalent force of what makes her performance feel tangible and real in the same way politics feel inevitability out of our control.

Throughout, there is warmth and displays of affection, Firesmoke is a track laden with beats as soft as a calm shoreline and true moments of lyrical honesty, ‘there is something in this tenderness that makes me want to live.’ Once again Kate refuses to shy away from the contradictions of love with I Trap You, a track that lays bare the selfishness of love. People’s Faces is the moment of the show, a song bursting with sympathy and remorse, Kate taking her face in her own hands between verses, as she cries out for the people of her country. ‘There is so much peace to be found in people’s faces,’ is a line that empowers the room, as audience members heart-warmingly cheer in agreement, for five minutes there is a true sense of pure unison and community.

The end is bittersweet, a standing ovation with Kates hand to her heart, ‘I feel I have said all I have today,’ are Kates parting words. No encore, no games just pure honesty, something we should all cherish.