Amba Tremain at The Lens Studio, Portsmouth: 'A ridiculous amount of talent on the stage' | Review
When you see someone around and hear them perform so often the familiarity can blunt your view of their talents – Amba Tremain is the voice that launched a thousand bands.
She’s been involved in numerous local projects covering a wide variety of genres, and is also in demand as a backing singer.
But it is only in the past year or so that she has decided to step out from behind the covers and push her own original music.
With a five-piece band behind her, plus two phenomenal backing singers (her sister Olivia and Lindsey Bonnick, who co-fronts the brilliant blues-rockers Brave Rival) there is a ridiculous amount of talent on the stage.
So far she’s only officially released a four-track EP and a smattering of singles. Most of that gets played here tonight, but in a lengthy 17-song set there is much here that is also new – to these ears at least.
Opener Yeah! gets things off to a rocking start, and much of tonight leans into the soul/funk end of the musical spectrum.
Tremain’s vocal talents have never been in dispute, her voice is a powerful instrument. She knows when to let rip, but also when to exercise restraint – she knows there’s no need to sing every note X-Factor audition-style just because you can.
But what is a pleasant surprise is the quality of the songwriting. Several of the tracks are instantly familiar enough to sound like a half-remembered song without tipping into pastiche.
Should Have Let Me Love You is an old-school ballad, Breathe brings a bit of raunch to proceedings, while Keep Me Running swings nicely.
A cover of Angie Stone’s Wish I Didnt Miss You is a welcome addition.
The last song of the main set is Hell, which again brings the funk and features some appropriately firey lead guitar from Liam Robins. It’s a thrilling ride – prog-soul, anyone?
For the encores we finally get the title track of her EP, Magic which is a slow-burn into a fevered climax before segueing into the closing Righteous, which is righteous in name and nature, an epic of biblical proportions.
As much as I have enjoyed Tremain’s recorded material if they can catch a fraction of their live performances on the forthcoming album, it’s going to be unmissable.