Last week at the Phoenix, an audience was brought to complete silence by an a cappella rendition of “Peace In The Valley” from Cold Specks. The Etobicoke-born singer — whose real name is Al Spx — has been turning heads in the United Kingdom recently. On Thursday, she opened for St. Vincent, and though she hadn’t written the opening song, her soulful and modern take on the highly-regarded classic proved to be an apt embodiment of her original music.
When you strip away the haunting guitar and simple acoustic melodies, Specks’ songs are gospel through and through. Like most gospel music, her take on the storied genre is dark and unrelenting. Unlike most gospel music, the characters in her songs find little instances of light or hope. Even the stage banter was heavy. Spx tried to lighten the mood of her brooding and mesmerizing set with a joke: “two cannibals are eating a clown together. One looks to the other and says ‘Does this taste funny to you?’” The punch line was hardly a surprise, but within the context of her set, the joke only added to her aspect of darkness.
Jokes aside, Specks’ voice remained the focus of the set. Hers is powerful and dominant, and at times otherworldly. She seems to channel voices of the past and sings with a confidence that defies her story: a singer who hardly performed in public throughout the majority of her young career, save for some small backyard parties. As Specks repeated the line “I predict the graceful explosion” towards the end of her set, it was hard to tell whether it was a premonition of her own imminent fame or some beautiful end to society.
The performance came to a close with a solo rendition of “Lay Me Down.” The lyrics “with my last breath my soul will slip” rang heavy with the crowd, which was more than likely unprepared for such a powerful opening act.
Specks may not be re-inventing the wheel with her “doom soul” spin on gospel music, but her voice alone is reason enough to check it out.