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24 September 2014

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You are in: Manchester > Entertainment > Music > Reviews > Ed Harcourt at Academy 3

Ed Harcourt

Ed Harcourt

Ed Harcourt at Academy 3

It must be difficult being Ed Harcourt. His singer-songwriter soft rock is not quite mainstream enough to achieve Coldplay level success, yet largely lacks the naff sentiment and pretentiousness that rightly annoys so many people about Keane.

He is, then, somewhere else entirely, occupying a kind of indie middle ground with a relatively small but loyal band of followers in tow. 

And so it is tonight, his occasionally questionable yet commendably prolific output from the past six years raided unapologetically and played with immense pride and passion for anyone who cares to listen.

The singles from sophomore effort From Every Sphere are seemingly the most well received, and later tracks such as Born in the '70's and Visit From The Dead Dog showcase his varied songwriting talents.

Somewhere along the way though, Harcourt loses his momentum, and between dodgy flirting with an audience member and a bland solo effort on a banjo, interest starts to wane. 

Luckily for him, he has some decent songs and a sense of humour - a musical nod to Kula Shaker who are playing downstairs gets big laughs - and that will probably be enough to keep the albums coming 'til the best of: volume two.

last updated: 08/10/07

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