We all know, thanks to Samuel Johnson, that being tired of London equals being tired of life.
Nevertheless, Arizona singer-songwriter Courtney Marie Andrews makes stepping aside sound pretty appealing on her song Put the Fire Out.
“I've seen enough, too much city/I've lived it up, not enough sleep/I've been up and I've been down/I've been lost and I'm ready to be found,” she sings in a soft, heartfelt voice. It’s about calming down, rather than giving up, and forms a key part of her new album, Honest Life.
The 26-year-old has called it her “coming of age album”. She’s made five before it, but spent most of her time as a session singer for the likes of Jimmy Eat World rather than promoting her own wares.
This looks like the point where she stops being a well kept secret and makes a real breakthrough.
Honest Life has already been enthusiastically received in the US, where it came out last August, and should belatedly earn just as much praise here when it is released on January 20. While so many sing of escape, Andrews is now articulating the joy of coming home, and has really found her voice.
March 2, Union Chapel, N1 (0870 264 3333, unionchapel.org.uk)
