Live Review: Barq At Whelan's

A thick bass kicked-off proceedings, as an exhilarating, soulful, textured voice shimmered through a faintly aggressive opener 'Disarm'. "It's a little bit about sex, a little bit about shame," singer Jess Kav says smirking.
Her voice penetrates every inch of the jam-packed room. It's not invasive in the slightest, it just hits that pitch perfect spot that encourages the audience to nod along.

Barq formed around a year and a half ago. The quartet is completed by Neil Dorrington, Stephen McHale and Tommy Gray. Their presence is reminiscent of a modern day Commitments, influenced by Radiohead, Rage Against The Machine and Mars Volta, with a dollop of alternative sprinkled in to set them apart. Elements of psychedelia and R&B mesh together to create what Jess jokingly refers to as 'aggro-soul'.

Check out the stunning photos of Barq here.

Jess is a singer with every imaginable tool, but reigns in and measures her talent for maximum effect for when it is most needed during the performance. 'Skin' and 'Corvax' followed, driven by a catchy, vaguely distorted guitar beat. Jess' voice was flawless throughout the whole show. It's no wonder why she is in such high demand, working with the likes of Kodaline and Hozier. It's hard to fathom a more natural sounding voice.

Backing singers added an extra kick to summer sounding vibes, as the mood and energy was peeled back marginally. "This one's a bit more chilled," Jess confessed. As more people streamed in to the already crowded upstairs venue, Jess involved the crowd in a bit of audience participation, singing 'I don't have time', back and forth at each other. "You guys having fun so far, it's really great to have so many people here?" she confessed earnestly.

Barq couldn't ask for a stronger front person. If Jess Kav is your starting point, it's hard to go wrong.