Paloma Faith at the Hammersmith Apollo

A repackaged version of Paloma Faith’s most recent album A Perfect Contradiction: Outsiders’ Edition came out earlier this month, including four completely new songs. The Upcoming caught up with her at Hammersmith Apollo to see her support her newest release.

Faith is an incredibly sincere performer, and she clearly loves what she does. The great chemistry she has with her band is apparent on nearly every song. She opens with A Perfect Contradiction highlight Take Me, which is the kind of song that encapsulates what Faith is all about. Her vocals and the harmonies that accompany them are pure soul, while the guitar has an almost disco feel to it. It’s a hugely accomplished, polished performance and one that sets the tone for the rest of the night.

One of the slower songs on Faith’s newest album is a cover of The Sisters Love song The Bigger You Love (The Harder You Fall). Before Faith jumps into the song, she talks at length about the importance of backing singers, and the fact that they’re criminally underrated when people talk about singers. Faith’s rendition is great, the huge soul and gospel influence she proudly wears never coming across as cheesy or fake; you can tell she’s a singer with a real love and admiration for her influences.

She breezes through a couple more A Perfect Contradiction cuts, including Impossible Heart, which has great disco-influenced stomp to it. Paloma’s upward inflection during the chorus is the staple of someone clearly infatuated with old soul and Motown records. She endearingly refers to her last song before the encore as a “pantomime last song” before running straight into the huge Only Love Can Hurt Like This. Faith’s biggest single is a huge hit, the crowd swaying and singing along to every word. When she reaches the high notes at the song’s climax it feels like the perfect culmination to a brilliant performance. Even if you don’t like her genre of music – and it isn’t for everyone – it’s hard to deny that Faith has become an extremely polished and impressive live singer, and one her audience clearly adores. 

Prajay Ghaghda

For further information about Paloma Faith and future events visit here.

Watch the Video for Only Love Can Hurt Like This here: