Caleb Kunle and the Euphonics explore hurt and heartache at the Sebright Arms

In the warmly-lit pub tucked away in Hackney, friends and supporters sipped pints and chatted before the show started. We shuffled down to the sparse venue deep underground, where Caleb welcomed the audience and introduced opener Lily Lyons (below). I was looking forward to hearing her set after an acquaintance likened her voice to water in a desert.

She and her band (Samuel Hollis on bass and Alex Iannicelli on drums) drew the audience in with songs that shifted shape, meshing soul and alt-rock. Lily has an even-keeled, pensive voice and rich lyrics, like in ‘Fabric’, about accepting imperfections inherent to life. The most cathartic points came from subtle, spiraling turns of voice and Alex’s unexpected rhythm changes, suspended beats catching your heart. After gigging around London for six years, listeners at home will be able to enjoy her well-developed artistry early next year for her first single release.

The Euphonics recently formed and played a tight, assured set drawing from their wide experience and influences. David Bardon (bass), Oscar Sholto Robertson (drums), Harvey Whyte (keys), Clementine Brown (violin), and Allessandrio Alleoinn (keys, guitar) played a fitting, dramatic introduction for frontman Caleb Kunle’s entrance. He screamed a “Hey” that would have made James Brown proud, and launched into “It’s All in Your Head,” a soul track with a baroque tint from Harvey’s organ and Clementine’s runs.

“We got so many friends in the house,” Caleb marvelled, evidenced in how many people sang along to the high-register chorus of his recent single, ‘Could Be Good,’ (we admittedly couldn’t keep up with the key change), and quickly learned other catchy choruses like in ‘Call Me Mad,’ a song about loving yourself.

Caleb picked up his acoustic guitar (at other points he also played a xylophone and djembe) for ‘What is Love,’ a folk Afrobeat song on which Harvey took a bluesy solo. I was curious how Harvey and Allessandro would blend two sets of keys, but the Euphonics’ rich sound kept pace with Caleb’s voice,  regardless if he was singing in a deep baritone or falsetto.

Caleb’s emotional honesty was a balm for hurt and heartache. He embodied several voices in “Boogeyman,” one of his earlier compositions on which Clementine evoked the eeriness and haunting of someone questioning their place and relationship to the rest of the world.

A beautiful interlude followed. Caleb explained the funkier groove was written about in-between relationships -“this is just an interlude, not that serious.”  It wasn’t that serious, but Allessandro's guitar solo was, and kept everyone jamming for a few minutes.

The most rapturous spell of the night came from ‘Healing,’ which Caleb and Allessandrio co-wrote. Oscar synchronised everyone with a pulsing, heavy kick-drum and Caleb began with an understated, gradually building power into the gospel-inspired chorus about the power of music, and the low-ceilinged venue started to feel like a church.

After the high of ‘Healing,’ the Euphonics set everyone back down and closed with ‘Ease Your Strife,’ which Caleb wrote for his brother and dedicated to any loved ones we were missing. It was heartbreaking catharsis with a harder rock edge and twanging guitar.