William The Conqueror - Chloe Foy

 
Friday night at The Waterfront is Propaganda night, meaning that any live events in the Studio upstairs have to start and finish early, something that I had neglectfully overlooked. A leisurely meander toward Kings Street suddenly became a panicked last minute dash in order to arrive in time. (Note to self – as well as checking that live events have not been cancelled due to positive  COVID tests, also remember to double check the start time).
 
I arrive just as support act Chloë Foy is fine-tuning her electric guitar in readiness for the first song of her set. Despite the earliness of the evening, the room is already reassuringly full, and so Chloë receives a warm reception from an audience that is clearly more organised than myself. And what a treat her set turned out to be. Debut album 'Where Shall We Begin' was released in June 2021 to favourable reviews, and latest single 'Work of Art' was one of the excellent songs that we got to hear. Her voice is fragile and ethereal, with songs reminding me of both Laura Marling and Sharon von Etten. The drinking song, 'Oh You Are Not Well', and a beautifully delivered acapella, 'Square Face' (about writer's block), complete her short but impressive set, and leave me hungry for more.

 
It is almost five years since I first saw William The Conqueror on the main stage at Cambridge Folk Festival, and so had been looking forward to this Norwich gig for quite some time.  In his previous life as an acoustic folk singer-songwriter Ruarri Joseph headlined at Norwich Arts Centre back in 2013, but perhaps it is his recent appearances at Maverick Festival that have drawn such an enthusiastic and energetic audience to the Waterfront Studio tonight.
 
Older and wiser, therefore, than when I first saw him, Joseph is clearly relaxed and extremely comfortable in his new skin. Three albums in as William The Conqueror, he is the epitome of cool. Dressed in army surplus shirt and low-slung jeans, and with carefully coiffured long hair and a beard, he still looks as though he has just wandered in from the Californian desert. Which, in a way, he has. William The Conqueror's latest album, 'Maverick Thinker', was recorded at the legendary Sound City Studios in the San Fernando Valley, close to Los Angeles. With a comfortable nonchalence that brings back memories of Jeff Bridges' character in 'The Big Lebowski', William The Conqueror is certainly the coolest dude in town tonight. In fact, dude-rock could be an apt description of the music that Joseph and Co now play. It is a melting pot of electric folk, swampy blues and indie rock, all blessed with just a touch of gospel and soul.
 
Joining Ruarri Joseph on stage are regular bandmates Naomi Holmes (bass) and Harry Harding (drums). Together the three display an almost telepathic precision in the way they perform. Even when Holmes' bass guitar goes down mid-song during the pulsating 'The Deep End' she still remains totally in the vibe as the sound engineers try to diagnose the problem. Joseph uses the time wisely, switching to new song, the gentle 'Bruises', whilst the fault is fixed and they can, appropriately enough, 'Move On'.