Lloyd Cole – The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh – Live Review – 2/08/26
by Killian Laher

The Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh was the rather fancy venue for the visit of Lloyd Cole.  Having played acoustically for several years, this time he promised a set on solo electric guitar.  It was never going to be a power chord fest as Cole, clad in white, opened with the slow-burning 29 and No More Love Songs.  Frontloading the set with Rattlesnakes, Perfect Skin and Brand New Friend, his unshowy guitar playing was really impressive.  He played a slinky version of the seldom played Speedboat and a very Dylan-sounding Period Piece.

An unusual brand of frontman, he still maintains the ‘headful of attitude’ of old, in a schoolmasterly kind of way, with his on-stage quips.  But somehow it works.  The recent World Cup was on his mind, as he gently teased the Scottish audience for having a collection of Argentina, Croatia and Ghana jerseys (England’s opponents).

After finishing his first set with 2cv, Lloyd Cole returned with the still resonant Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken, and from there he could do no wrong.  It wasn’t all nostalgia; guitar-based versions of The Afterlife and On Pain sounded really good, even if, as Cole said, the latter uses the same guitar chords as he always uses!

He led the audience to sing along with The Idiot and Jennifer She Said, before finishing with a stripped-down Hey Rusty and the prophetic I’m Gone.  But not before Cole encored with Lost Weekend and Forest Fire, sending the crowd happily into the night.