Bush Hall, London - Live Review

'Charmed by the gadget freak'

Reviewed by David Smyth, LondonEvening Standard (22 November 2005)

Women gadget freaks are still thin on the ground, but at least Imogen Heap covered all of hers in fairy lights to maintain her feminine side.

Like an ultra-modern version of Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins - bass drum on his back and cymbals between his knees - she employed an array of esoteric buttons and boxes to create a complex electronic sound entirely alone.

In what was amazingly the Essex singer's first proper solo show in London, Heap explored a varied back catalogue that includes the trip-hop classic Blanket, a 1999 single for Urban Species, and tracks by Frou Frou, the short-lived double act she put together with Madonna collaborator Guy Sigsworth.

Her latest solo material was the strongest, showing why she is best primed for success on her own.

Hide and Seek, an odd but unforgettable a cappella track performed with a robot choir effect, has already featured prominently on the influential television series The OC Her newest song, I Can't Take It In, is about to appear in the first Narnia film.Heap looked as though she needed extra arms on tracks such as Goodnight and Go and Loose Ends, which demanded simultaneous manipulation of laptop, keyboards and two different microphones.

She seemed more natural at the grand piano for Let Go and Breathe In, stripping down the songs to reveal that there is charming substance beneath the trickery.