Edinburgh's original open mic night

Lynsey Hutchinson

at OOTB

(April 2004)
Lynsey Hutchinson never disappoints her audience. She is one of the few people I have ever watched who seems to play with her entire body - the guitar as if it is an extension of her arms. Though she had some tuning issues at the start she then commenced into her first song. Asking 'Can you hear me, this is silence' in a restrained verse breaking into the 'mother' of all choruses (thank you EWB for that analogy) before lifting again in intensity. Her voice carried but never went over the top and suited the material. With delicate phrasing and neatly book-ended Lynsey used what I can only describe as 'musical onomatopoeia'. 'All things considered' that is... Lynsey Hutchinson is a self confessed addict to Victoriana and had come to OOTB fresh from an afternoon enjoying the sights of barrows of pigs heads and cow's hooves from the set of a BBC period drama. She thought she'd continue the theme with "Four Chambers", a song penned about Jack the Ripper. It started with a dark picking riff that was rhythmic and then introduced sweeping melodies with a siren-esque sustained effect. This piece uses the dynamic range of Lynsey's vocals to the utmost effect and with lyrical content ranging from 'I'll clean you from the inside and take your pieces home' to 'you can't stop me, I am inside, you won't find me' the atmospheric effect was astonishing. With an artistic break before launching into the chorus and 'Crying Oh my lord' this was a song that evoked the presence of the killer himself. Lynsey finished with "Woodcut" with Hannah O'Reilly guesting backing vocals. After a short period of de-tuning, they began with a gentle picking guitar part contrasting the dark intensity of the previous song. With a great use of dissonance, this song has an earthy feel and was made even more emotive as Jim and Ross joined in on percussion. As the words asked 'Can anything be more than a fable' the guitar was built up to a strum with a glorious full sound. The modal guitar part had a slightly eastern feel to it and with tempo and rhythm changes to quick triplets this fulfilled the earlier promise of 'epic material'. Hannah provided warmth, strength and longing in the harmonies and with lyrics such as 'curtains for you little brother, your hand's well and truly played' and 'I saw you fall into a stone wall' this song provides much food for thought. Again Lynsey used her 'book-ending' technique and as the guitar came down again to a picking riff and they sang 'Amen', it was a perfect ending to a thoroughly exhilarating set.

(Nov 2003)
Lynsey also started the night with "Johnny Human", about aliens coming to take over the Earth in the style of British colonialisation, and it was the first time she'd aired this in Scotland. This was a poignant and adagio-paced sung in the lower register of her wide vocal range. Some lovely 'oohs' and the line "my dog's not supposed to levitate" showcased Lynsey's quirky and fascinating songwriting style wonderfully well. Another new one to me, "Cold Reading", was upbeat, pulsing and powerful with an incessant chord sequence.