Rae Morris @ NAC
Rae Morris is a natural born performer.
Final stop for the pop-noir party bus: the Norwich Arts Centre. A choice ending for Morris’ Unguarded Tour, the NAC teemed with burgeoning fans. First to greet us was courteous Londoner Fryars. Glancing around the room, I clocked that a fan of Morris is a certainly a fan of Fryars. A considerable portion of the room mouthed along with familiarity rare for a support slot, and his ballads, guitar-led tunes and electro-disco numbers largely satisfied. It’s also worth knowing that the 24-year-old genre-bender co-produced Morris’ debut album. A humble composer with his heart on his sleeve, Fryars was the perfect predecessor for Ms Morris.
With a top ten album and vast critical acclaim behind her, Morris christened the stage with early release Skin. Flanked by three other instrumentalists, the rising star froze the crowd with steely vocals fit for a February night. With electric pipes and pleasant inter-song chat, Morris’ allure swelled. Equipped with a little red keyboard, the singer-songwriter won the crowd over as she tore through endearing electro-pop belters and deft ballads. Despite Morris’ versatility, piano-led tracks such as Don’t Go captivated more than her more beat-driven hits did. Unfortunately, the lofty heights of these tightly produced songs seemed somewhat flattened live. Closer and Cold anticipated soul-rousing choruses, but whilst Morris’ vocals soared, the backing instrumentals failed to step up. Regardless, the latter track profited from the welcome reappearance of Fryars. The duet added another dynamic to Morris’ arsenal of talents, and verified that with vocal weaponry and a canon full of belters, Rae Morris is a natural born performer.
