Live review: Indie-folk talent Matilda Mann blooms on freshly sprung debut album tour

Charmingly bright, the 25-year-old headed out on her Roxwell tour for her first headlining venture across the UK, crossing off major cities along the way.

Manchester was the date I was fortunate enough to be in attendance.

Taking place at the modernly suave Band On The Wall, the venue was a perfectly planted venue for Matilda and her supports to sink their roots into, as Manchester is a music city at heart, with an ever-deepening musical heritage being buried into it each day.

Prior to her performance, the sparkling artist selected two other fiercely creative females to cement the lineup; these were the intimately emotive Hetta Falzon and the ambitiously lit country flame that was Jo Hill.

Both bringing their unique pop flavours to the table, they segmented an intricate yet ambitious choice of artistry that truly represented what Matilda had in store for the large Manchester turnout.

With an earlyish start, the wonderful Matilda dressed in white, and her backing band of boys waltzed onto stage to get her lovely show into action with the audacious Autopilot; the contrasting of the Londoner’s sweetened vocal delivery and the ringing bass allowed for the joyful chorus to truly take flight.

Second in line on Mann’s whimsical set was the moodily pretty Just Because; with a grand opening of strings that trickle in and out of the piece, it brews this rushing storm of unfolding witty lyricisms paired alongside a charged bolt of cynicism. Matilda has crafted the ultimate morose anti-romance anthem.

Lighting up the stage next was the brimmingly pop-centric Dazed and Confused, this light-hearted track was a soothing breeze of pleasant melodies, while once again being complemented by Matilda’s stunning whispery voice.

After the first three being from her latest release, it was time for a slight change-up as the scene-stealing Southerner introduced one of her older singles by asking if anyone had seen the show Heartstopper.

After a few cheers went up, Matilda praised their TV taste and got her next anthem started, Paper Mache World.

The track itself delves into a fleet of heartaches while trying to remain romantic in a world of artificial love, so when the ever-spinning track bounded into action, a sense of magical giddiness rolled through the crowd, overriding them with a tidal wave of delightful sounds and poetic meanings.

Slowing the show back down again was the heartfelt intricacy of Tell Me That I’m Wrong; the beautiful ballad was a softly yearning curation of lure and love, which was a brutally honest encapsulation of romance, truly bottling that feeling of fluttering butterflies in your stomach.

Personal favourite Japan was to follow on her already glowing showcase of shimmering singles, but before she started, she asked the crowd if anyone had been to the Land of the Rising Sun, to which one or two raised their hands, leading Matilda to abruptly joke, “F*** you,” as she explained a few seconds later that she’s always wanted to go there and plans to do so one day.

But even if the indie starlet has never actually stepped foot on Japanese soil, she has perfected a melodic and melancholic outing that does her bucket list venture the highest form of justice available within the constraints of her soulful songwriting.

The quietly appealing opening of Common Sense roped the Mancunians into a lullaby trance of hypnotic proportions, as the tempo slowly crept up into this rolling ball of energy that unravelled into a cinematic bursting of life and love as the memorable chorus reverberated off the walls of the low-lit venue.

Carrying on from the movielike nature of Common Sense was the fiery, upbeat Say It Back, the feature first single from Roxwell, which, along with its driving magnetic bass, curated a blissful flame of passion, which heard the crowd reiterate the lyrics back loud and proud to the indie pop star.

Summer-ready anthem Bloom was nearing the conclusion of Matilda’s serene set, as its high-spirited whirlwind hook and the accompaniment of a Parisian accordion laid down the foundations for a vibrant finish, as the mirror ball above started spinning and covering the audience below in glimmers of light.

While the lyrics are dreamy, they actually bleed a heartache of meeting someone at the wrong time, but the song encapsulates all of what makes Mann's sound so different and intimate.

Matilda, as elegantly joyful as ever, made time between tracks to slide into anecdotes, sparking bundles of pleasantry throughout her show, in which she rambled about personal stories, accepted gifts from fans, and even set up two lucky fans through her meet-cute scheme, where she adopts some cupid wings and pairs two names that were put forward in the box adjacent to the merch stand – this unpredictable whimsy perfectly leaves the sort of smile on your face that’ll last for days on end.

The charismatic chanteuse fulfilled her flawless outing of sixteen songs with the stylish Meet Cute and the perfectly named See You Later; the two tracks reflected a refined first headline tour and an exciting insight into one of the UK’s most abundantly talented rising stars of this music generation.