Paloma Faith

Wearing her heart on her sleeve has never seemed to be a problem for Paloma Faith.

The R'n'B-inspired chanteuse has built a solid career through songs that have endearingly charted her romantic highs and lows, offering a classic template that also blends pop, jazz and Motown influences.

Her recent, only semi-ironically titled sixth album The Glorification Of Sadness feels like something of a salutary warning from a woman scorned and has reignited Faith-mania, with her concerts selling out across the land.

In Fife, the deceptively ditsy diva set out her neo-feminist stall in a gloriously high-octane opening salvo made up of three suitably feisty songs from the LP, namely How You Leave A Man, God In A Dress and Bad Woman.

Devoting the entire first half of her show to Glorification, Faith plus four-piece band and twin backing singers proved an
instantly cohesive combo, deftly switching to sensitive balladry with the tender Divorce, another new song dealing with her split last year from her long-term partner Leyman Lahcine.

Lightening the mood, the London-born performer delivered what would prove to be the first in a humorous series of between-songs chats that addressed her post-relationship situation, describing her latest LP – which was kept off the top of the charts in February by grubby noiseniks Idles – as "a real miserable affair".

"It's difficult being a single mum," she went on. "I'm probably in the middle of a nervous breakdown. If not that, a mid-life crisis, but you're witnessing it in real time."

The banter certainly mirrored the lyrical content of her current crop of songs, with the self-empowerment theme carried on via edgy rocker Say My Name, the piano-led I Am Enough – a classy slice of blue-eyed soul that could easily have been penned by Paul Weller in his Style Council pomp – and Hate When You're Happy, an equally well-crafted song also delivered with feeling.

Paloma, 42, ever so casually told us that she'd recently been diagnosed with ADHD, and that the condition "has become my excuse for absolutely everything", before she was off on one again.

"Women are so burnt out doing about six jobs," she ranted, her followers lapping it up. "We take on too much. I'm a bit angry and some of that's come into the music – it's turned me into a bit of a rock star."

Whatever, on tonight's evidence she's undeniably still out for a good time, and she invited her fans to join her in dancing to yet another fresh cut, Enjoy Yourself.

While that was one of the less focused moments in her set, Cry On The Dancefloor, by contrast, was a real beat-tastic banger, swiftly followed by a massive anthem in the shape of Eat S*** And Die and the bombastic Let It Ride.

"I've decided to adopt a selfish attitude and my kids seem happier because I'm happier," she told us as the interval loomed, before the neurotic resurfaced, albeit one with a smile: "I'm going to come back and pretend I'm okay."

One costume and hair change later – a feathercut wig was in – and Ms Faith resumed with two of her best-known early singles, Stone Cold Sober and Picking Up The Pieces, both still sounding like vital pop nuggets over a decade on.

Further crowd-pleasers Crybaby and Upside Down kept the Alhambra bouncing, with some manic barefoot dancing from Paloma in her sparkly sleeveless dress accompanying the new jack swing of Can't Rely On You.

Slightly more choreographed moves involving her excellent backing singers accompanied Lullaby, with chaos ensuing as the electro monster hit Changing provided a euphoric diversion into drum and bass.

The singer took her final bow with her torch song Only Love Can Hurt Like This, declaring herself besotted with Scots crooner Paolo Nutini. Now there would be a match made in pop heaven, perhaps...

Photo credit: Steve Gunn