Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The warmth of the night inside The Empire Theatre was due mostly by the voices of excited chatter, of local fans hugging themselves in delight at the thought of getting tickets for the first big Rock act of the year to come to Liverpool. It was in that warmth, that glow of spirit to go beyond the enclosures of work and home for probably the first time this year for many, that the heat rose as the flush of thousand hearts made the theatre feel as homely, and as noisy as it did.

Ahead of the rampant voice that resides in Hozier, the measure of the evening should also be seen in what the support act Wyvern Lingo brought to the stage, for in this support lay the possible gleaming future of three young women who gave such immediate pleasure to the awaiting and musically deprived since before Christmas crowd, that that heat, that feeling of passion reserved for the main act, spilled over like smooth lava gracefully running down a mountainside and nourishing the fertile ground for years to come.

Ireland’s Karen Cowley, Caoimhe Barry, Saoirse Duane performed with vigour and muscle and the sound they produced inside the cavernous like space of The Empire Theatre was fulfilling and beautifully enhanced by the sheer depth of harmony offered and the truth of their conviction being felt in all corners of the gilded room.

With a new E.P. out soon, the young musicians set out about knocking down any barriers of resistance normally reserved for such occasions, when the audience have geared themselves up for what they see as a talented musician but who also acts as a muse for their own escape from reality for the evening. It was resistance that crumbled into attic dust and the passionate embrace of steady and well presented songs gaining a lot of respect from the attention drilled audience.

In songs such as Sweet Life Ruiner, Starting Fires, Running, the enchanting Beast At The Door, Left Hand Free and Subside, the scene was more than set, it was coloured brightly, a charm had been placed down before the crowd and that charm gave a huge measure of meaning to why people will still go out in all weathers in search of that rare moment of excellence.

Wyvern Lingo has desire and ability on their side, a wonderful way to kick off music in 2016.

Ian D. Hall