Darren Hayman
The Albany, London
19/10/2011

One of the many enjoyable things about catching Darren Hayman live is that, unless you’re a total completist, there will at least be some songs you’ve never heard before. Tonight is no different, although he is here, in the basement of The Albany surrounded by faded curtains and about fifty punters, to mostly play songs from his excellent new LP, ‘The Ship’s Piano’ between songs about dogs going into space. And with the titular piano in tow, we’re treated to an exhibition of what it is to be incurably lovelorn, homespun and completely governed by an instrument.

Hayman doesn’t appear nervous when chatting with the small crowd, but occasionally his hands do wobble across the lower end of the keyboard. Rather than dislodging the performance, it actually allows us to see, close-up, exactly how bare these songs are. ‘Old House’ is perhaps the most fragile, eking carefully towards its bleak conclusion – “My heart’s with the keys by the door” – and while Hayman’s left hand bobs nervously about the keyboard’s lower end, the sound itself is nothing but assuredness and calm. Similarly, a newly-swung (as opposed to the more clipped album version) ‘Dagenham Ford’ gently shows exactly how powerful Hayman can be, wrenching his head around the microphone as if sitting down is somehow stifling him.

Those total completists don’t have to wait long for a real treat though, and after a consciously awkward appeal for an encore (“It’s weird if I leave the stage and come back, it’s just… there…”) Hayman’s former Hefner bandmate Jack Hayter joins him for two back-catalogue numbers. ‘Your Head To Your Toes’ from Hefner’s ‘We Love The City’ is worth the admission alone, one of Hayman’s most obviously romantic (and slightly mucky) songs – and a fitting way to round off an evening in the presence of one of our very greatest songwriters.

Daniel Ross