Ghostpoet @ Scala, London 13.10.11

The dub tinged, trip hop electro sound which has won a Mercury Prize nomination would probably be a candidate to fall a bit flat live but Ghostpoet's band sounds big tonight. The drums are snappy and subbass is deep to match the rasping bassy vocals. His guitarist and live strings add colour and melody to the synth tracks running from the obligatory Macbook.

As he makes his way through the standouts from the album including 'Garden Path', 'Finished I Ain't' and 'I Just Don't Know', Ejimiwe cuts a curious figure. There's an undeniable charisma - all be it a clumsy one, to him. He seems genuinely a bit shocked at the level of attention that has come his way in the last 6 months and is constantly saying thanks. "Thanks for buying my album", "Thanks For Coming Out Tonight" etc. The sentiment is a nice one but it's not exactly rock and roll.

Just as things start to get a bit same-y, the band shift things up a gear that it wasn't apparent they had. 'Us Against Whatever' has the ground moving more than to anything before it.
Judging from the wide demographic of people here, the desperate honesty in his lyrics appeals to a lot of people. We are treated to a new song followed by ‘Liines’ and ‘Cash And Carry Me Home’ - his two singles so far. And like that his short set is over. There is definitely something unusual about Ghostpoet but it's not obvious as to what. On the way out someone says “Awww he's really cute and cuddly". Yes. Yes he is.