Anna Meredith at the Barbican: big, exuberant — and loud

“Oh my God there’s a whole orchestra!” exclaimed one concertgoer arriving in the Barbican Hall shortly before showtime. Well, yes: that indeed was the unique selling point of this performance from Anna Meredith — Scottish composer, singer, multi-instrumentalist and crossoverist. Meredith’s 2019 electro-rock album Fibs was to be performed by its composer and her band along with the 55-piece London Contemporary Orchestra, conducted by Robert Ames. There was quite a buzz among the audience, and the young players on the packed stage seemed animated and excited too. Meredith, who gained a masters degree at the Royal College of Music before embarking on her multifarious career (film scores, Proms commissions, electro albums), seeks to blur the boundaries between pop and classical and here was evidence that there is an appetite for her endeavour.

The arrival on stage of Meredith and her band, dressed in jumpsuits with geometric designs, like sales assistants in a Bridget Riley franchise store, was greeted with whoops and hollers; Meredith bounced with anticipation. We had lift-off as Meredith and her band launched into the album’s opening track, “Sawbones”, a series of looped 16-note patterns that accumulated energy and momentum as the orchestra joined in, building and building until the thing reached a pitch of feverish excitement. Meredith played keyboards, and walloped drums at her side with unbridled ferocity; the cellist from her band played fiddly transposed synthesiser sequences; the orchestra sawed and blew and banged and tapped. The music surged with energy, circling and spiralling. And what fun to see a rock band with a tuba-player rather than a bass guitarist.

It was also loud. And herein lay a problem that beset much of what followed: the intricate layers and textures of Meredith’s music were blurred or even obliterated in the quest for impact. Flautists tootled and clarinettists burbled but their efforts were often barely audible amid the bombastic, amplified whole; as the band rocked out on tracks such as “Paramour”, it was almost as if they were in competition with the orchestral players, while both had to contend with the use of pre-recorded beats and synthesised bass. The joy of hearing a live orchestra is that each element is audible, while the whole thing coalesces into something greater than the sum of its parts. This was over-amplified and somewhat fuzzy. 

Gentler, subtler tracks such as “Ribbons” were more successful: you could even hear the harpist, while the vocal harmonies of Meredith and her band were affecting.

Cheers and a standing ovation greeted the climax of this succinct show; an encore followed — a singalong (lyrics provided on the big screen) of Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing”. It was a big and exuberant affair, but its bigness and exuberance had been achieved at the expense of subtlety and detail.

★★★☆☆

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