Nell paints beautiful images with her music

Review

Last night Nell Bryden took me on a musical adventure with beautifully written songs full of meaning. The lounge at the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen was filled with the enthusiastic tunes of Nell and her band.

Each song has been carefully crafted and the words have significant meaning to Nell. She explained the story behind each piece which gave the music more meaning. She told us of the stressful time when she lost her hair which was the inspiration for the beautiful Buildings and Treetops.

We learnt about her 22month- old little girl, her mother, the friends she has lost and the friends she holds close. You can tell by the way she talks that she values her family and friends and her relationships.

Her ability to tell a story through a song is a talent which is hard to come by.

Towards the end of her set, New Yorker Nell spoke about the horror of 9/11. She told us of how the city became a village during the disaster and of how everyone pulled together. I closed my eyes and let her words paint a visual and powerful image of the dust and rubble in my mind.

The band were fully behind Nell. The keyboard player, drummer and electric guitarist accompanied her powerful voice and acoustic guitar playing. The set included a wide variety of material taken from her albums and new songs from her latest album which is being released in January.

She told the audience of her unorthodox approach of playing new material before releasing it. Anaudience can appreciate the beauty of the music live first before taking it out and about in their own lives as they drop the kids off or do the ironing but still knowing of the live experience.

The evening ended on a high, showing off the talented abilities of Nell and the band to be versatile and instantly change the mood in the room. Shethen left thebandonstage to do their thing and let the audience show their appreciation.

Nell Bryden is touring the UK before releasing her album in 2017.