Kristian Matsson, otherwise known as The Tallest Man on Earth leaps out onto KOKO’s stage. Not remotely intimidated by the sold out theatre which surrounds him and his band, he’s here to let off some steam.

Much of the evening is dedicated to his new record, Dark Bird Is Home, which is played in full and commands a previously unneeded backing band. In doing so, The Tallest Man on Earth captivates the room, which is packed to the rafters while looking as comfortable as when he is a solitary force.

Six tracks in and the backing band departs, leaving Matsson alone to revisit his roots. With this contrast his music feels even more naked than it once did and without their backing he can only rely on his distinctively powerful voice and intricate guitar playing. He plays the stunning ‘Love is All’ and ‘The Gardener’, causing a buzz in the crowd and ushering in the first major sing-alongs of the night. It sets the stage for the remainder of the gig, but it’s not long before his band is back by his side, heading back into unfamiliar territory.

It’s the effortless transformation from singer-songwriter, to band leader that underlines his skill. Packing relentless energy, he buzzes around the stage like a blue-arsed fly, playing an array of guitars with dazzling complexity and clearly revelling in the duties as front-man. It’s a change he’s making with ease – and it’s great to watch. This is no truer than in the new release’s title track ‘Dark Bird Is Home’, which displays the difference in styles within one song, building from soft melodic folk to a multi-instrument crescendo.

Following protests in Northern France, they’re lucky to even grace the stage. He announces how they had been stuck in Calais and were dangerously close to missing the opportunity. Thankfully they made it, but are forced to play without a sound check or a warm-up. It doesn’t show. The performance is tight, the sound is superb and the chemistry between the band is brilliant for a musician who spent so long performing alone. In fact, the night actually seems to be the perfect release following an otherwise hellish day for the swede and his comrades.

A heckler repeatedly calls for him to play fan favourite ‘King of Spain’, to which he declines, eventually responding, “We have a few more songs to play for you tonight, and if you want, they can all be called ‘The King of Spain’”. It’s not played. It seems that this is a track that he has dropped in search of his new direction. He sticks to his guns and it’s a brilliant response to a slightly awkward situation. The audience are more than satisfied with the tracks which take its stead, seeing him and his band off with huge cheers.

It’s a period of flux for the erstwhile solo-man, and when he returns to the UK in October, fans will be more expectant for a fuller, richer sound. Be sure to check it out.

He played:

• Fields of Our Home

• Slow Dance

• 1904

• Singers

• Darkness of the Dream

• Love Is All

• The Gardener

• Weather of a Killing Kind

• Sagres

• The Wild Hunt

• Timothy

• Revelation Blues

• Wind and Walls

• A Lion's Heart

• Little Nowhere Towns

• Beginners

• Dark Bird is Home

• The Dreamer

• Like the Wheel

Image: Paula Cuccurullo

In the dimly lit Speakeasy of Edinburgh’s Voodoo Rooms, the low stage is barely visible beneath a spaghetti junction of pedals and cables. Guitars line the rear wall of the tiny platform and a keyboard sits with chair precariously near the edge. The snug room is lined with already full seats and those in the audience of roughly 50 who didn’t bag one stand or sit on the floor in anticipation. The cosy venue is suited perfectly to the upcoming performance from singer/songwriter, Kathryn Williams, as she presents tracks from her new album, Hypoxia.

Before Williams take the stage her support act appear; a blonde, red-lipped singer clutching a glitter-edged guitar, and a slim, suited young man straddling a cello. They announce themselves almost shyly, leaving us unsure what the band name is, before launching into a breathtaking performance of Southern-style harmonising and Bluegrass, voices melding perfectly and the versatile cello singing like five different instruments. The songs are sweet and mournful, and we discover later they are The Jellyman’s Daughter. I thoroughly recommend you seek out one of their live performances.

Kathryn Williams is then onstage with backing musicians Andy Bruce – teetering on the piano chair and somehow squeezing in a guitar too - and Simon Edwards, on bass. Williams begins with a couple of Crown Electric tracks including ‘Underground’, penned as she sat on the floor of Kings Cross Station. Then she practically apologises that she’s going to play Hypoxia from start to finish, which nonetheless delights the crowd. Williams is enchanting throughout the evening, making quips about the dark songs as they depict the events of Sylvia Plath’s, The Bell Jar and its protagonist, Esther’s, descent into mental illness. Before playing opener, ‘Electric’, she describes how the lyrics portray Esther’s fascination with the Rosenburg trial then proceeds to croon wispily about the electric chair. She hesitates before explaining the next track, seeking audience approval (to a resounding, “Yes!”), although she often allows her evocative lyrics to speak for themselves.

To take Hypoxia from recording studio to live performance, Williams says, required reconstructing the tracks. In ‘Battleships’, the bass is used cleverly as the ticking clock and she prepares some songs on stage by recording layers of vocals, then using a loop pedal to control them while singing, with wonderfully atmospheric results. Perhaps due to this complexity, there is a brief glitch with sound control that unfortunately affects the tremendously acerbic ‘Tango With Marco’. Williams’ vocals don’t falter, though, and she manages to carry the track.

A barer rendition of ‘When Nothing Meant Less’ showcases the clarity of Williams’ voice as she sings about Esther’s relationship with Joan, a fellow hospital inmate who, like Esther, suffers suicidal thoughts. More upbeat, ‘The Mind Has Its Own Place’ resounds almost cheerily through the intimate setting before a bluesy rendition of ‘Part of Us’ with bittersweet – perhaps pertinent – lyrics; “The last time I felt lonely / the room was full”

Williams’ rendition of ‘Cuckoo’, penned with Ed Harcourt - “In his bath…It’s a good bath” - is one of the most haunting parts of the evening as she sings the disturbing viewpoint of a mother ashamed of her daughter’s illness. An echoing “cuckoo” call fills the dimly lit space and the hair on the back of my neck stands up: in interpreting The Bell Jar, Williams did not sugar-coat the pill.

Finishing Hypoxia, Williams rounds off her performance with a cover of Neil Young’s, ‘I Believe In You’ and her own ‘Heart Shaped Stone’, dipping behind an imaginary curtain (her hands) before reappearing (removing said hands) to complete an encore. Williams’ gentle, self-deprecating wit is so charming that in spite of the sinister element of her new album the audience leave smiling and upbeat, perhaps resolving to settle down soon with Plath’s book and Hypoxia as the perfect accompaniment.

Touring in support of current album Boys Crocodiles brought their twin Fender guitar assault to the welcoming confines of Edinburgh’s Sneaky Pete’s on Monday night, inspiring an old man to dance with a mic stand & invoking the name of one of the city’s punk legends in the process.

It’s doubtful that the venue’s compact stage has been the site of any more stylish guitar showmanship than that performed by Charles Rowell whilst Brandon Welchez and the rhythm section kept the pace to a frenetic level throughout. ‘Crybaby Demon’ and the other selections from Boys fitted seamlessly into the set amidst works from their previous four albums, allowing for the show to race along with only the odd break for tuning up.

Continuing a tradition which this writer first witnessed Mudhoney indulging in many years ago, The Exploited were mentioned and a cover or covers of theirs proposed as the next song up a couple of times but merely as a tease. The Elton Motello number ‘Jet Boy, Jet Girl’ did though get a rousing rendition as the encore, during which the bulk of Hatcham Social also made it onto the stage at the expense of a mic stand nearly clobbering the front row of the crowd.

Crocodiles delivered everything expected of them & looked thoroughly at home in the intimate space provided by the club. Hopefully you’ll experience them in a similar sized room.

Apologies to Vladimir who we were too late to see, arriving as we did just in time to see Hatcham Social take to the stage. A band previously known in name only, discovering via the club’s Twitter that they were on the bill was a decided bonus earlier in the evening and enlightenment as to what they’re all about keenly awaited. Visually two versions of Wolfy Smith and one of the Inspiral Carpets behind the drums was an odd sight to first be presented with but this soon became purely about the music.

Vocally they brought Orange Juice to mind early on and from the second song onwards the power of a good tune to lighten your mood was evident. Either association with Crocodiles or just the fun of being on stage found the band powering through songs which on record turn out to be a lot more traditionally indie than the young Stranglers-like versions experienced here. They had a ball (to the extent of forgetting they were in Edinburgh & not Glasgow) and it was a pleasure to finally manage to attach a sound to their name.