As 2003 draws to a close, Starsailor could be forgiven for feeling a little confused.  During the year, both the national and music press have heaped well-deserved praise on their live performances, in particular a triumphant Isle Of Wight Festival show which saw their new unheard material getting as good a reaction from the crowd as their well-known singles.  When Starsailor's much anticipated second album 'Silence Is Easy' was at long last released, the same magazines and newspapers that had earlier talked about the strength of the new songs, somewhat unfairly heaped only mild praise on the new recordings.  Well, perhaps those constructive criticisms have spurred James Walsh and his companions on, but tonight at Southampton Guildhall, Starsailor have the look of a band with something to prove.

Now the new album is available, tonight's gig is a chance to experience the new tunes having got to know them - and to perhaps hypothesise as to how the live write-ups can be so much better than the record reviews.  The answer is obvious.  As much as Starsailor's tunes are solid, well-crafted examples of musicianship, it is only when performed live that they truly come to life.  Even without the layers of multi-tracked backing vocals, every one of this evenings songs are an improvement on the original album interpretations.  The older tunes now have a larger, widescreen canvass, with changes in arrangement, tempo and additional emphasis during chorus build-ups thanks to some excellent drumming.  The previously naive 'Alcoholic' has become the anthem it always claimed to be, 'Fever' is plodding and almost sinister, 'Love Is Here' is melancholic and wistful.  Best of all, the debut album opener 'Tie Up My Hands' is colossal, having taken on a life of its own now it has been slowed down and extended.  Hell, the £15 ticket price was worth it just to hear that one song.  The fine show is enhanced by an impressive lighting rig, that compliments the band without distracting form them.

That the Guildhall is sold out is more than likely a result of two summers playing excellent sets just across the water at the Isle Of Wight Festival, and Starsailor no doubt have a very considerable fan base now in southern England.  The band seems genuinely chuffed to be performing here, with James Walsh bordering on the ecstatic at times.  He says that this tour is a "thank you" to the fans that bought the new album - and that thank you takes the form of a performance of the new material far superior to how they appear on 'Silence Is Easy'.  James's voice has never sounded better.  On the album's title track (the one song on the record that comes somewhere close to capture the true power of his voice live) he near-on sings his heart from its ventricles.  The standout track on the new album is the disco-influenced 'Four To The Floor', and James has already commented that he'd like it to be an Indie Disco regular.  It already has the feel of a classic-in-waiting when played live, and if 'Four To The Floor' is not a single, it will be a scandal far bigger than any to have ever struck Parliament.   If such an unlikely event occurs, letter-writing campaigns to all political MPs will ensue, and a statement will no doubt be made in the commons by the Government's Culture Secretary.

While it's difficult to see how Starsailor's songwriting techniques can progress by the third album, their main task now is to capture in the studio the wonderful experience that is their live performance.  Their material already towers over that of their sleepy rivals Coldplay and Travis, but with the right sound on the airwaves, Starsailor have the confidence and the potential to become an act with the same stature and audience size as the likes of U2.  Hopefully, the first step on this journey will be a much-deserved headline slot at the next Isle of Wight Festival.

Review: Andrew Morrison