The Moment Of Ruth

Upcoming young female rock singers always seem to have to endure comparisons with Janis Joplin or Joni Mitchell – just as new singer/songwriters used to be burdened with the suggestion that they might be “the new Bob Dylan” (when in fact there was only one of that kind).

Irksome as it may be, I would have to say that Olivia Ruth, a force of nature from Queensland, Australia, brings to mind elements of both Janis and Joni, with the raw power of the former and the vocal acrobatics of the latter.

Ultimately, she is more Janis than Joni... and in fact more Janis than Janis, in that, to my mind, her passionately beautiful voice, which seems to come from every fibre of her being, leaves Joplin in the shade.

In a bizarre way, her phrasing and the tendency of her voice to dominate, dictate and embody the whole feel of a song, remind me more of the amazing David Surkamp, frontman of prog rock greats Pavlov’s Dog, than of any other singer.

Olivia Ruth crowdfunded her current tour of the UK which I was lucky enough to catch at the New Cross Inn, south London. She is backed up by an excellent three-piece band, but, to be honest, she doesn’t need anything but her guitar and that remarkable voice. The more we hear of that, the better.