Billy Lockett

It's always tough to judge an artist in a context like this. The Waterfront Studio is so sparsely populated that at times you're struggling to sense much vibe in the room. It's worth mentioning now that Billy Lockett does exactly what all performers should do when faced with a largely empty room; get to work and put on a show. And it's a good one at that. The trouble is that between the mostly exposed school gym flooring, the disco lighting and the scattering of people, you end up with a somewhat limiting framework in which to build something excellent. As an experience it's a bit disjointed, but this is just circumstance and is no fault of the Northampton singer.Lockett essentially splits his set in half, booting out five tracks on his guitar that are all decent enough; Never Let You Go stands out in particular and would go down a treat with a larger, more familiar crowd. He's got a solitary kick drum, which for me is a bit superfluous; I've never seen any act do this and convince me that it's a great idea, and the same is still true now. During this time a striking white piano stands in silence on the other side of the stage, waiting so obviously, and it's when Lockett downs strings and takes his place behind it that things become more interesting. It may have something to do with the aesthetic transition, or the ditching of that pesky kick drum, or perhaps the fact that it's all suddenly become a lot less Ed Sheeran, but from here it all feels better somehow. Lockett's songwriting is solid if unspectacular at this point in his career, familiar but unchallenging. The tracks from his latest EP are clearly superior to anything else on show, with Old Man a catchy, radio-friendly jaunt and Toxic hinting at, I hope, the kind of atmospheric, distinctive material Lockett might go on to put out. There is a way to go, but the potential is more than evident. Keep an eye on this lad.