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Live: CURTIS HARDING // Electric Brixton, London

Curtis Harding brings his self-described “slop ‘n’ soul” sound to the Electric Brixton to kick off the UK leg of his tour.

Curtis Harding - Electric Brixton London - GIG GOER 2022

Michigan-born and now Atlanta-based, Curtis Harding has hardly been one for staying still and tonight’s show was a further testament to that. To simply slap a ‘soul’ label on him seems reductive, for while it is the foundation of his music, the number of genres that have been employed across his three studio albums feels almost boundless. Once a songwriter and backup singer for CeeLo Green, Harding has now amassed over 30 million Spotify streams on his 2017 single Need Your Love.

Swaggering into view onstage, he wastes no time showing off his masterful blend of genres with The Drive from his debut album, followed by a nostalgia-soaked Go As You Are. The instantly catchy Can’t Hide It is a product of Harding’s latest album If Words Were Flowers, released in November last year. Influence from his gospel singing mother and his sister’s hip hop tapes meet in Hopeful, with his rapping contrasting against the choir’s chants.

Harding takes us on a rollercoaster of tempos with a mellow Face Your Fear leading into an upbeat On And On, and the ballad-esque With You preceding a rousing Heaven’s On The Other Side, which is promptly met with cheers from the crowd. His impressive vocal range shines all the way through Wednesday Morning Atonement to his signature Need Your Love, tambourine in hand as the bassline hums away.

The aptness of Keep On Shining as the encore is not lost on us, a wonderfully buoyant track with lyrics bursting with optimism. Living up to the lines from songs off the new album, Curtis Harding definitely did not let us down, filling an otherwise ordinary Thursday night with magic in a way only he could.

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Photos: Abigail Shii