Paul Steel at the Leadmill, Sheffield, 27th March
After being named one of the hottest acts at this year’s In the City showcase and the initial word of mouth buzz, it appears Paul Steel has dipped under the radar of late. Tonight even as the baby faced singer hops onstage most of his perspective audience hover in the background of the bar, almost scared or unwilling to come any closer.
That is until the tall, lanky figure opens his mouth, then within minutes of summer pop song ‘In a Coma’ the bar is empty as people curiously wander in the small room. After all backed with a six piece band Paul Steel has enough energy to fill the room twice over. As he plays ‘April’, despite the dull weather outside, Steel’s twee melodies and cumbersome vocals brings warmth into the room. Also Steel looks surprisingly relaxed for an artist on his first tour, complete with a keyboard sound that strikes “SHEF-FIELD” at any moment Steel feels uncomfortable the set takes a natural progression as the songs drift away from the light love melodies into the more psychedelic .
Electro noises blend with guitar warps as Steel’s two female backing singers provide a soulful boost to the songs containing luscious five part harmonies which bring a bright spell to the already fresh songs. As Steel launches into his most recognisable hit ‘Honkin’ (On My Crackpipe)’ it clearly stands out among the songs of friendship and love yet ‘Honkin’ is still unbelievably upbeat as Steel, behind his mop of hair laughs “you all look like disappointed parents” briefly breaking the audience silence as apologises on the songs subject matter.
However ending track ‘Raygun’ did provide the highlight of the night as the finishing track managed to blend every inch of Paul Steel into one song. Beginning with girl, boy harmonies it isn’t long before the track takes a rockier turn as dainty keyboards are pushed aside for fast guitars. Then as the song reaches its climax it suddenly twists again as samples override the hard sound creating a fuse of soft sharp sound. While all six members continuously jump, tripping, and falling over one another to the beat of the rhythm, above all things they look to be having so much fun.
Yet despite his lovable charm and sweet pop melodies, the country seems to be unwilling to hear Paul Steel. As this set tonight proves, he can melt a room in moments creating twee indie songs which, if anything brings you back to childhood (tonight’s attendees are encouraged to draw their own invisible friend at the merchandise stand.) Enthusiasm doesn’t come as pure as this, and with brilliant pop songs to match it’s about time we embraced Paul Steel.
Paul Steel's debut album April & I is out now.
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