Anna Pancaldi @ The Bicycle Shop
Straightforward goodness
It doesn’t take too long to realise why Anna Pancaldi is catching the eye of certain circles. Bringing naught but a clean guitar and a voice to things, it’s a credit to the London-based performer that at a time when everyone and their mother seems to be drenching their sound in reverb and all manner of other tricks she remains able to crack out a set that feels so substantial through the simplest of means.
That this is possible speaks volumes about Pancaldi’s vocal prowess. An unassuming presence on stage, she unfussily lets her voice do all the hard work, gliding through tracks with a potent range that glistens at its heights and gains a sweeping plunge pool power in its depths. So, yes, raw talent, but what impresses more is the harnessing of all this through darting melodies and punctuated lyric that showcase the soft skill of an artist with no shortage of potential. There’s a rounded pop edge on display that will do no harm to Pancaldi’s broader appeal but she still holds, for now, an authenticity about her and a refreshing optimism in her material that would raise the spirits in the most cynical of rooms. Touring with this straightforward goodness until November, you could do far worse than witnessing the rising songstress at work for the evening.
