Dan Reed

Union Chapel, London

Emerging from the shadows by degrees, Dan Reed’s journey back from self-imposed exile has been a slow one. Acclaimed solo shows fuelled the anticipation for new music, but business wrangling stifled its release and as Reed and his band step into the muted limelight tonight it’s still with the anticipation of a new album to come. That doesn’t stop him or his excellent band showcasing most of the new songs though and lyrically and musically they’re more introspective, borne of hope; you doubt Reed will write something like Tiger In A Dress or Seven Sisters Road again. It’s majestic stuff though; the stirring opener Feels Like Home sets the sedate tone for an evening under Union Chapel’s candlelit eaves.

Reed often addressed political and social issues in his music even if he didn’t wear a shirt while he was doing it. Latterly the knotty subject of spirituality has coloured his writing, he now sings about the West Bank’s painful divides, the quest for higher thinking, the greater good. With songs like Losing My Fear and Promised Land he manages to make such grand themes sound neither mawkish nor trite. And with Dan Reed Network gems like Cruise Together, Ritual and Stronger Than Steel plus other new songs about love like the outstanding She’s Not You, Reed proves he can pull heartstrings still.