On April 14th, In the heart of Plymouth, amidst the historic auditorium of the Pavilions, Paloma Faith took the room on a journey with her soul-stirring performance as part of her monumental UK arena tour. The venue was brimming with anticipation as fans eagerly awaited the arrival of the enigmatic songstress who was promoting the release of her recently released sixth studio album, "The Glorification of Sadness".

As the lights dimmed and the stage ignited, Paloma emerged, a vision in her signature retro glam attire, ready to take the audience on an emotional journey through her eclectic back catalogue. This time, however, the atmosphere was slightly different - the show was seated, offering a more intimate setting compared to her usual standing gigs, allowing for a deeper connection between Paloma and her devoted fans.

Having garnered some colourful comments last week on the socials for wearing her ‘SLUT’ costume (to which her 77 year old mother defended her by saying “so what if you are?”) she opted for a much more conservative style this evening which she called ‘Office Temp’, a long black skirt, slashed to the thigh, complete with a crisp white blouse which hung open, allowing her nipple tasselled breasts to show, she then added that this look is now referred to as a ‘Slutty Office Temp” which pleased the room no end.

She said that she had enjoyed the day without her two children, which was nice but added that she missed them terribly and ‘may’ have had a little cry earlier in the evening.

From the opening notes of ‘There’s Nothing More Human Than Failure’ to the final offering from her latest record, Paloma's performance was nothing short of incredible. Her powerful vocals soared effortlessly throughout the venue, which can sometimes be a bit ‘hit n’ miss’, but tonight seemed to be okay, maybe something to do with the place being packed to the rafters…

She captivated hearts during Act One which saw her as the support act on her own tour, the tracks performed were full of heartfelt lyrics which enveloped the various stages of grief that she went through following her separation from the father of her two children.

She spoke of the songs that form her latest long player, and sad that it was almost like therapy creating them, every track seemed like a session where she got something off her chest and ended up feeling much better about her life but after these sessions, she started to ditch the people that were bringing her down and this resulted in her having just 4 friends left in her life, something she was keen to live with if it meant that the toxicity was removed.

Her track ‘Eat Shit and Die’ was aimed at anyone with enemies in their lives, this was an uplifting number, with its lyrics firmly ‘flipping the bird’ to whoever, or whomever it was aimed at.

Paloma played 14 of the 17 tracks from her new record in the first act alone, this was incredible and left the room wondering what was going to be included in act two. Before the intermission, Paloma added that Act One was all about the divorced, ‘fucked up’ version of herself but Act Two would be the non-divorced version of herself, without the bitterness! She also urged her fans to visit the merch stand during the break where she had a lot of goodies available, including a hat that had ‘CUNT’ printed on the front of it, a really good social tool to gauge whether people are worth involving in your lives or not!

At the end of ‘Sweatpants’, Paloma leapt off the stage into the audience and dashed up past the mixing desk and into the tiered seats before disappearing through a door on the upper balcony.

The curtain fell to mark the start of Act Two, Paloma appeared in a long gold dress complete with a very regal gold train that she whipped about the stage with her every move. The set kicked off with the classic tones of ‘Stone Cold Sober’ which saw the room up and dancing along with her. By the time she launched into ‘Picking up the Pieces’, it was clear that the train on her dress would have to go and come the start of ‘Cry Baby’, it was off, she was free and proceeded to parade around the stage like a caged bird, suddenly released into the wild.

‘Upside Down’ saw some audience participation, Paloma sung the words, we repeated them and after a couple of goes, we got the general idea, ‘Gold’ was introduced by saying that at least she had the right coloured dress on for it! Come the end of the song, Paloma had shed her gold ankle boots to allow her to be bare footed which must have felt good after the hour that she had been in heels.

The auditorium transformed into a night club for ‘Lullaby’ which sounded exquisite with its pumping bass and rhythmic drums. Talking of drums, ‘Changing’ was somewhat of a full on drum n’ bass banger which really changed the whole dynamic of the show and tore a hole in the roof of The Pavilions as the audience got involved in a big way.

After a short speech about how people can make a difference when they come together rather than tackling matters single-handedly, she asked everyone to get their phones out, switch on the lights and hold them aloft, each light represented a different person and the lovely effect when you saw so many lights all in once place at the same time.

Paloma and her band launched into ‘Only Love Can Hurt Like This’ which sent the place into orbit, many people had left their seats and moved to the walkways to throw some shapes which made Paloma smile, especially as it was a Sunday night!

Backed by a talented band and singers, Paloma effortlessly navigated through the emotional landscape of her songs, from soulful ballads to infectious pop/club anthems. It may well have been a cool Sunday evening in Plymouth but it could quite have easily been a Saturday night instead!

Highlights of the evening for this reviewer included the live renditions of tracks from her new record, "The Glorification of Sadness," where Paloma's collaborations with high-profile artists such as Kojey Radical, Chase & Status, and Charlie Puth truly shone, whilst they were not here in body, you could feel their energy through the songs. But it wasn't just Paloma's musical prowess that stole the show - it was her undeniable stage presence and magnetic charm that truly won over the Plymouth audience. With her infectious energy and genuine charisma, she effortlessly commanded the stage, drawing everyone into her world of music and choreography.

As the night drew to a close, you could tell that Paloma had enjoyed her time on stage in Plymouth, she thanked the audience for coming out to see her and said that she had really enjoyed the last 16 years of her career and said that she’s looking to see what the next 16 years holds in store for her!

Looking ahead, she is set to release a book titled ‘MILF', which, in this case stands for ‘Motherhood, Identity, Love & Fuckery’ (available to pre-order NOW). She mentioned earlier in the show that she had opted NOT to have a ‘Ghost Writer’ for the book, which left her to work through it at her own pace which was, “a complete nightmare”, but she managed it and you can get your hands on a copy from 6th June.

As for her UK tour, catch her around the country until the middle-end of May before she jets off to Europe before landing back in the UK from mid-June for a plethora of festivals and other appearances. All in all, there's no doubt that Paloma will continue to captivate audiences around the world, leaving a trail of adoration in her wake, even if she is completely bat-shit crazy (in a good way!).

Words and Pictures by Steve Muscutt

Setlist.

Act 1

There’s Nothing more Human Than Failure

How You Leave a Man

Bad Woman

Divorce

Say My Name

I Am Enough

Already Broken

Hate When You’re Happy

Enjoy Yourself

Cry on the Dance Floor

Eat Shit and Die

Let it Ride

Sweatpants

Act 2

Stone Cold Sober

Picking up the Pieces

Cry Baby

Upside Down

Gold

Can’t Rely on You

Lullaby

Changing

Only Love Can Hurt Like This