Natalie Prass at Rough Trade NYC (February 6, 2015)

Natalie Prass is the talk of the town at the moment, with her fantastic self-titled debut album getting well deserved praise across the board. It’s one of the year’s first great albums, and I had the pleasure of catching a wonderful set from her last night at Rough Trade NYC, along with both Small Wonder and Lady Lady, who opened the show.

Small Wonder, the project of Henry Crawford, released a wonderful album by the name of Wendy early last year. If you missed it, I urge you to go find it and purchase it over at his bandcamp page. You won’t regret it. I caught a full band set from them at Shea Stadium last summer, a much different affair than the solo set that he played last night. Although the arrangements were obviously more sparse, he still managed to bring the songs to life all the same.

Nashville, Tennessee’s Lady Lady were up next. It’s a project fronted by Sara Thompson and Becca Mancari, but rounded out with a backing band live. They were more similar to the style of Natalie Prass, a folk-oriented sound with a bit of a Southern draw. There’s always something so effective about two great female vocalists working together. They’re just starting out, but there’s a great deal of potential to be found with Lady Lady. You can go grab their single “Queen Of Desire” for free at their soundcloud.

It’s hard to talk to any music fan at the moment without gushing about Natalie Prass. Although she’s been around as a solo artist for a few years now, this was her first proper album, the culmination of a few years work. It’s great to have such a great album so early on in the year, especially when it seems to be coming from such a positive, genuine, personality. Natalie has paid her dues, and this success is more than well deserved. Just last year she was a part of Jenny Lewis’ touring band (I covered their stop at Terminal 5) and based on her stunning set at Rough Trade last night, it looks like Lewis’ star power has rubbed off on Prass.

Her set began from behind her keyboard, with starry-eyed performances of album cuts “Your Fool” and “My Baby.” Prass joked about people comparing her voice to Disney princess, and had a few magical moments of her own. She came into the crowd for a slow-dance with a fan in the front row who happily obliged. The variety heard in her multi-faceted music could be seen on her setlist, where she embarked on two very different covers: Janet Jackson’s “Any Time, Any Place” and Patsy Cline’s “I’ve Got Your Picture,” the latter which was performed with Lady Lady. These covers demonstrated the range of Prass as an artist, and how much fun she can have in the live setting. The show ended with a terrific performance of “Why Don’t You Believe In Me,” the best song on her debut. It sent the crowd buzzing wanting more, and although she didn’t return for an encore, it left me plenty satisfied.

After so many years in the business, it’s finally Prass’ time to shine. She’s in for a mighty big 2015, I can’t wait to see how it all plays out.

Setlist:

1. Your Fool
2. My Baby Don’t Understand Me
3. Bird Of Prey
4. Never Over You
5. It Is You
6. Sand Dunes
7. Violently
8. Any Time, Any Place (Janet Jackson Cover)
9. Plunder
10. I’ve Got Your Picture (Patsy Cline Cover w/ Lady Lady)
11. Reprise
12. Why Don’t You Believe In Me

“Why Don’t You Believe In Me” Video: