Here come the girls

Last night, I watched arguably two of British music's best female voices of today. One, a Brummy beaut whose vocals will make you want to cry. The other, the woman who helped Disclosure rape our ear drums with a faultless remix throughout the Summer of 2012. Laura Mvula and Jessie Ware are two of the hottest (quite literally) women to grace our airwaves at the moment. Mvula brings a gospel-jazz vibe that you can't help but sway from side to side to, eyes closed and dream of being 8 again when nothing mattered. Jessie Ware, on the other hand. I want her voice. I want her face. Her clothes. Her friends. Her life. She's just so fucking cool.

After spending 10 minutes looking for somewhere to park (n.b. There's no where to park around Bristol at night), I arrived at Bristol's O2 academy, only to be greeted by the dulcet tones of Laura Mvula singing the utterly spellbinding ballad, 'She'. If you've never heard of Laura Mvula before, then please, please listen to her. She has the most insane voice. One of those voices that somehow sounds even more perfect live than on the album. And she also sports the hottest buzz cut in the music industry. Radio 1 are partial to a bit of Mvula, but most importantly, Radio 2 bloody love the girl, and they 100% know what's going on with singer-songwriters. You've probably heard the infectious hand-clapper 'Green Garden' on both of these stations, and trust me, it did not disappoint live. Her entire set had the crowd mesmerised, and if you knew her before or not, there was no doubt that everyone in that venue was going to Spotify the shit out of her album when they got home. Like I did.

So after waiting what felt like a 'Bieber hour' (a whole 10 minutes!!), our headline act glided onto the stage, her dark locks flowing free - liberated for the night from her trademark bun - and dressed in a Gothic gown, seemingly borrowed from Morticia Addams. She went straight into the title track of her album, 'Devotion', and it was easy to be reminded of why this gorgeous Londoner was nominated for a Mercury. Her voice is impeccable. She's the nicest woman ever. And she hits the big note in 'Running' every. single. time. I'd seen her 3 times previously and I just can't get enough of Jessie Ware. Her new material was an absolute delight to listen to, and surprisingly a lot funkier than her mellow, Sade-esque debut. She's worked with the likes of SBTRKT and Katy B, as well as Bristol heavyweight, Julio Bashmore (oh baby) and her love for Briz made the crowd warm to her bubbly personality even more.

The highlight of my evening, however, was undoubtably when Jessie sung the always emotive 'Night Light'. For this was the moment I was reminded of the incredibly drunk Welsh girl, alone, and wedged between my two very unimpressed friends. After shouting "I love this song!" she proceeded to sing very loudly and very flatly, every word of the song - or at least the lyrics she knew. The ones she didn't she just screamed "woo" to. We all then forgot about our little Welsh songstress, until she returned once more, but this time with a new friend. Her phone. Just as 'Something Inside' started to play (Listen to it. Amazing) she got on the blower to her mate, only to shout that she was lost and if she picked a random place, then she'd come and meet her. Shut up Welsh girl. Shut up.

'Sweet Talk'. 'If You're Never Going To Move'. 'Wildest Moments'. All blinders from Jessie Ware. I'd advise anyone who wants to chill the funk out whilst listening to some awesome vocals and crazy musical arrangements (Laura Mvula has a harpist. Enough said.) then you need to see these ladies desperately. There's no rush however, as I'm pretty sure these British beauties will be around for years to come. Just good luck getting a ticket!