Wes Dance
Marr's Bar, Worcester

AFTER spending the week listening to his music on myspace, I had high hopes for Wes Dance.

Not only did he deliver, he raised my expectations for next time.

Worcester-raised Dance is an incredible songwriter. His music is uplifting, interesting, intelligent and each song well-rounded.

Timid at first, he became more comfortable in front of his highly-appreciative audience as the evening wore on.

Dance has cited American staples such as Graham Parsons and Neil Young as inspirations. You can hear that US influence but there is something distinctly British about his performance - a sweetness to his unpolished vocals and an awkwardness at being on stage.

The melancholy Paper Helmet - a request from the audience - was beautiful, as was the delicate Almighty Conscience. Other tracks were reminiscent of Ryan Adams and Damien Rice. There were even hints of Hefner.

The gig was the unofficial launch of his latest album Penance. Dance performed a number of album tracks including the title track, a powerful pop song in the vein of Badly Drawn Boy.

Despite all the comparisons, Dance is definitely unique and this city is lucky to have him.

He was very ably supported by Philip Bridges. Blaming a "crisis of confidence" in his own material, Bridges' set consisted of mostly covers - but there were no complaints.

He mastered the likes of Ed Harcourt, Nick Drake and Ray Lamontagne and even Radiohead with ease.

Given more confidence, both musicians have the talent to go far.