Natalie Merchant, Conway Hall | reviews, news & interviews
Natalie Merchant, Conway Hall
Natalie Merchant, Conway Hall
American folk rock icon strangely undercooked
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
As a curtain raiser for the most ambitious album of her career to date, Natalie Merchant’s concert last night at London’s Conway Hall was an entertaining but strangely low-key affair. Merchant has spent the past six years recording dozens of songs based on poems themed around childhood, 28 of which she plans to release on two CDs early next year.
As a curtain raiser for the most ambitious album of her career to date, Natalie Merchant’s concert last night at London’s Conway Hall was an entertaining but strangely low-key affair. Merchant has spent the past six years recording dozens of songs based on poems themed around childhood, 28 of which she plans to release on two CDs early next year.
The future of Arts Journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more New music
![The Lurkers in 1978. Left to right: Pete “Manic Esso” Haynes, Nigel Moore, Pete Stride and Howard Wall.](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/The%20Lurkers_header_1000.jpg?itok=SVrHqgvo)
![Pointedly offbeat](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/squid.jpg?itok=doadgz8j)
![Rats on Rafts' 'Deep Below': the 4AD-style sleeve image may be no coincidence](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Rats%20on%20Rafts%20Deep%20Below_1000.jpg?itok=V-IPY6mG)
![Twlight: woozy](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Hi_Fi_Sean_David_McAlmont_Twilight.jpg?itok=2_Bw-1Fm)
![Boyd's doorstop of a book](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/boyd.jpg?itok=6iWELHRb)
!['The personal stories of life in the city and self-realisation sneak up on you '](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/unnamed-8_2.jpg?itok=P0JhC-6n)
![New without a wholesale change: third album from Dublin indie quartet](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/inhaler%20open-wide.jpg?itok=WaSNObI9)
![](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/edit.jpg?itok=3-63VI9m)
![Not a happy chap](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/weeknd.jpg?itok=ZVzHLR62)
![Formal Sppeedwear’s Beck Clewlow](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Formal%20Sppeedwear%2C%20The%20Windmill_1000_header.jpg?itok=Qnj8biaj)
![](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Cymande_31_530x%402x-567722758.jpeg?itok=K6SikRzm)
Add comment