Tonight’s instore at Rough Trade’s Denmark Street store was a stripped-back acoustic gig with no amplification. This worked brilliantly. I am really pleased I took a punt to fit this into a busy day with two other gigs.

Lucy, the lead singer’s vocals were stripped of that alt-rock production that I don’t really like. Her vocal performance was outstanding. Clear warm vocals with an impressive range. It is not easy singing in a big room without amplification and keeping your tone. I had seen an artist play the same space a few weeks earlier who I couldn’t hear. That wasn’t the case with Lucy. At one point she hit a high note that could have become screechy or shouty, but I heard myself saying ‘wow’. She has brilliant control over her vocals. It seems a shame that this is hidden behind so much production in the album.

It was also helped by how personable the band were in front of many people who were shopping for music. These can be difficult gigs. Although there were friends and relatives in the audience and there were so many genuine smiling faces. This was a really warm gig and I am really pleased I decided to add it squeeze it in. They need to do an acoustic tour.