Chet Faker, The Lantern, Bristol

Australian singer, songwriter, producer and DJ Chet Faker has been a very busy man in 2014. Debut album ‘Built on Glass’ was released in April to widespread positive reviews, while tonight’s show is one of a number of sell-outs on his current UK tour.

Faker’s music blends a myriad of influences, combining fragile, soulful vocals with the kind of downtempo house that’s enjoying such a huge revival at present. It’s a combination that makes comparisons to acts as disparate as Disclosure and Bon Iver both equally appropriate.

The evening’s performance is a strange affair, featuring a mix of material from ‘Built on Glass’ and Chet’s earlier material. Much of these earlier songs seem a touch out of place in a live gig setting, feeling better suited to a late night DJ set or after hours festival slot than a solo live performance. However, when he launches into the more expansive ‘Built on Glass’ material, the dynamic is transformed, with Faker offering an engaging and compelling live performance.

Delicate, intricate piano melodies couple with Faker’s haunting, introspective vocals and brooding stage presence to conjure up a strangely intimate atmosphere, despite the packed nature of Colston Hall’s smaller venue The Lantern.

Unsurprisingly it’s his breakthrough reworking of Blackstreet’s ‘No Diggity’ which earns the best response of the night, sending “hey-oh, hey-oh, hey-oh, hey-ooh”s ringing throughout the venue. He may still be finding his feet as an international performer, who can sell-out shows on the other side of the world to his Australian home, but from the evidence on show tonight, Chet Faker is more than up to the task.