Some shows you just can’t miss. Emanuela Hutter, best known as the ethereal, razor-sharp voice of the Hillbilly Moon Explosion, has one night booked in London to showcase her latest solo album, ‘Goosebumps’. It’s one of only two UK dates and there’s no way that we’d skip the chance to see the record performed live in an intimate setting, especially not when she’s backed by the legendary Jimmy Sutton on bass and Andy Kandil on guitar. What we’re treated to is well worth the trudge across town in the wintery weather: an evening of gorgeous, timeless music that blends together all of Hutter’s passions in one intoxicating cocktail. 

From the instant Hutter steps onstage, it’s striking how much more there is to her sound than we anticipated, even after listening to ‘Goosebumps’. ‘Everybody’s Valentine’ has so much more punch live, majestic and edgy when stripped of Sutton’s lush production but bolstered by his live presence, Hutter’s voice regal to guide the melody of her latest single. She slides straight into ‘I Forgot To Cry’: warm like old vinyl and full of the beauty of chosen solitude with sunny tripping rhythms, then we’re swept into ‘Mean Lovin’ Machine’. The song ‘about men who get to a certain age and become very strange’ has a cutting edge to the cute backing vocals, and the vocalist leans back for a solo with a whoop, an irresistible groove struck. The melody of ‘The Voices’ twists into unfamiliar and beautiful shapes and she duels her guitar with Kandil, sparking layers upon layers of complex joy that makes you take notice.

It’s a deeply personal set, and one where you feel like you know Hutter well by the end. She radiates tenderness on ‘And When You Cry’, written for her daughter, and it’s adorned with adoring delicate touches and tender skipping chords. ‘Reno’, we learn, was originally written for her solo sessions but ‘loaned’ to The Hillbilly Moon Explosion for their most recent album, and it’ a joy to experience the song as it was originally intended to be heard. Sutton’s bass skips for an open, bare feel, coloured in with blooming nostalgic sentiment. The same sensation of seeing her vision for a song come to life tingles through us again on ‘1979’, and in it’s solo reinvention it glows with hypnotic, idealistic memory. ‘Quiet’ is stunning in its simplicity and depth as a rare moment of gentle lull. 

We also get to celebrate Hutter’s influences with her, and her take on the Ronettes’ ‘Baby I Love You’ owes more to the Ramones than the original, erupting with passion and glee. No one expected her to take on Loretta Lynn’s ‘Blue Kentucky Girl’ as a closer, but it feels made for her voice, another thread in Hutter’s sound for us to chase. We’re left with a reprise of ‘Everybody’s Valentine’, just to cement the power in the supergroup she’s created around her.

Tonight is very special, and not just one for fans of The Hillbilly Moon Explosion. It’s one for anyone who loves music from the heart, presented with class and grit by musicians at the top of their game, determined to give Hutter’s vision it’s proper due, and it’s one that’ll keep echoing in our mind for quite some time to come. 

Kate Allvey

Buy a copy of ‘Goosebumps’ here