Following the release of his introspective, ethereally empowered second solo album, Endless Rain, out now via Domino, former Wild Beasts songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Tom Fleming took to St George's Glass Studio for a mesmerising performance, packed with painstaking realism. 

As everyone bustled in to the intimate space, the lights promptly dimmed at 19.30 as Tom made his unassuming entrance and began setting up his guitar, something he would battle with throughout the night as each song's unique characteristics meant a new tune-up in-between.

As a quiet hush fell over the audience, he wasted no time in unravelling his intricate guitar melodies, and brooding expansive vocals that bellowed through the room as he began working through his second album's key track's. From the record's title track Endless Rain, with its fragmented notes and palpable warmth, to Be Strong, which Fleming introduces with a dedication to his dear partner who had a big impact on his songwriting, there's a real breadth of artistry on show.

His recent album's lyrics are poetic, addressing themes of human frailty, doubt, and depression. Fleming's recovery and newfound perspective on vulnerability, masculinity, and collective human resilience influenced the album's honest, poetic delivery and hopeful tone. And live, it's all the more real as stark guitar plucked tones resonated across the seated crowd as they clung on to each and every word.

Treating fans to some older material, Fleming offered up songs from his debut album and earlier EP's which gave a further dynamic insight in to his sound as they became stripped to the bare bones and presented in a new, arresting light. But there was no doubt the biggest cheer of the evening followed a flawless rendition of Frozen Food Centre that saw Tom push the boundaries of his intricate finger picked performing abilities as the mesmerising guitar notes enveloped his hushed echoed voice. Jagged and precise all the same.

One True Pairing’s live show isn’t just a performance - it’s an emotional reckoning. In an era of polished indie pop and detached cool, Fleming dares to be raw, unfiltered, and unrelenting. And for those who were lucky to have witnessed it, that honesty was nothing short of breathtaking.

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