David Ramirez review, St Pancras Old Church, London: Compelling set performed to an intimate crowd

“I don’t think I’ve ever opened a set with a hopeful song,” quips Americana artist David Ramirez after “Find the Light”, which kicks off a compelling 90-minute set in front of an intimate, attentive crowd that includes his mum and dad. The 34-year-old Texan admits there’s a lot of “sadder” songs in the set, before adding “I hope you guys are all on board with that?” The crowd, some of whom regularly whoop, most certainly are.

Ramirez, who has dual American and Mexican heritage, is blessed with an extremely expressive voice, with a huge range that recalls Johnny Cash and the National’s Matt Berninger. His latest album, We’re Not Going Anywhere, is his finest and most ambitious (and political) yet and the songs off it are the highlights tonight. He wails and pleads for more time to talk with his long-distance English girlfriend on the evocative “Telephone Lovers”, laments his homeland on “Twins” (“There she goes/ Goodbye America”) and explains the merits of Tuesday boozing on the mournful “Time”.

Ramirez, who in the flesh resembles a blend of actors Andrew Scott (Moriarty) and Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), describes the wonderfully atmospheric “I’m Not Going Anywhere” as showing “a little finger to death”. His material, in general, could be described as gloomy optimism, but at certain points he really does need his full band (he’s returning in August with them) to give his emotive material some oomph. He does ably fill in the gaps where the band should be, but on, say, the refreshingly honest “People Call Who They Want to Talk to” (a song that sets off the venue’s church bells) you’d prefer that they were there.

There are a couple of notable omissions, namely the tangy “Good Heart” (“I’ve got money problems/ which lead to drinking problems/ which lead to sleeping all day problems”) and “power ballad” “Eliza Jane”, but Ramirez still delivers a droll, self-deprecating (“Thank you for those three people who clapped, I clearly chose the right path”) and totally committed set. Roll on August.