A tall skinny blonde in a snug suit jacket climbs on stage, smiles at the audience, sits down at the piano and says, with a lilting slightly-stuttering Scandinavian accent,
‘Hello, good evening, my name is Agnes Obel and we’re going to play some songs for you’.
I’m basically already in love with her.
Aside from a few instrumental pieces reminescent of Michael Nyman, but not quite as enchanting, most of the set list is beautiful duets set to piano and cello. Very melancholic, with Cat Power reverb and delay settings on the microphone, it goes down terrifically well.
Following a standing ovation she and Anita Müller, her cello accompaniest, are drawn back on stage with terribly modest politesse, unsure of what to play for an encore:
‘Thank you so much…we haven’t discussed this at all!’
Spellbinding, other-worldly etc etc – she’s selling a lot of albums. Deservedly so.
Joe Mitchell 