Music: Lindi Ortega

The Canadian star comes to The Haunt

Canada (you know, the ‘northern part’ of America, the not-so-obsequious neighbour that subtly sticks the middle finger up to its bras and somewhat dictatorial neighbour), keeps on punching above its musical weight… For a country that has mined the genius likes of Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Rufus Wainwright, The Band, Leonard Cohen and, er, Justin Bieber, there must be something in the water, particularly when it comes to moor folky, rootsy and country flavours for which the Canucks excel. Recently, there’s been a state of cultish ‘country’ flavoured acts such as The Be Good Tanyas, Po Girl, Corb Lund and Fred Eaglesmith. And now there’s Lindi Ortega, a rising star from the financial capital Toronto who, as one reviewer has put it, looks like a ‘country-fried Amy Winehouse in widow’s robes’. That’s where any similarities end, for the guitar-toting Ortega conjures up the spirit of traditional country and rockabilly music, and somehow twists it into something contemporary and timeless. What’s more, she has the songs to match her fantastic and versatile voice that recalls Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris.

Tin Star is her fifth album, recorded in Nashville where she is now based, and it’s another stunning album that follows in the wake of her last two albums, Little Red Boots and Cigarettes & Truckstops, both of which were nominated for the Canadian versions of the Brits (Junos) and the Mercury Music Prize (Polaris). Of her time in Nashville she has said: “I have witnessed so much talent… that has inspired me to push myself even further.” As you might expect from a decidedly country flavoured album, themes of loneliness, unrequited love and primal despair are peppered throughout, but always enlightened by Ortega’s acerbic overtones, the upfront production and occasionally raucous energy that permeates throughout.

For nigh on a decade, she’s worked her little red boots off, playing the Toronto scene for the most part, before tours with the likes of Noah & The Whale and a stint as backing singer for The Killers brought her more into the limelight, culminating in Tin Star, an album that has seen her suddenly become a bit of cult sensation here in the UK, to the extent that her Brighton gig has been upgraded form The Hope to The Haunt, in line with the high demand to see this sassy country creature in the flesh.
The Haunt, Saturday 1 February, 8pm, £10

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