(((O))) Live: Jaye Jayle – The Black Heart

“Last time I played in London I came to this bar and said, I want to play in that black box.” Evan Patterson is clearly very pleased about Jaye Jayle’s headlining slot at The Black Heart tonight. “Sometimes I want to be close enough to smell your breath. Not all the time!” And The Black Heart, with its kitsch religious iconography and goth aesthetic, certainly fits the Jaye Jayle vibe. The Kentucky drone blues quartet are on a EU tour with neo-folk legend Kim Larsen aka :Of the Wand and the Moon: tonight, and this is a perfect pairing that I’m very excited for.  

Alone with his acoustic guitar, behind a wreath of lilies, Kim Larsen is an unassuming presence. As soaring sentimental strings fade in from a backing track, I feel like I’ve walked into an old black-and-white romance at the conclusion when lovers must part. Wand play beautifully sombre songs, but often with a bright upbeat feel. At previous shows Kim further offsets the woe of the material with some very dry humour, but not tonight, saying little more than Skol and Cheers as he downs seemingly endless cans of Heineken.  

Kim plays a set-list that spans most of his back catalogue as well as a cover from side project Les Chasseurs De La Nuit. While I would love to see a full-band show again – I miss the sharp, strident bass-playing in particular – the backing tracks work well tonight, adding a sense of scale and atmosphere to more recent compositions like ‘Your Love Can’t Hold This Wreath of Sorrow’. The muted trumpet parts, in particular, compound the already fairly pronounced sense of melancholy that Kim’s music exudes. Most of us recognize ‘Tear Us Apart’ from The Lone Descent (2011), a classic of the neo-folk genre if ever there was one, receiving the utter desolation of the lines “This pitied love, this petty life / This emptiness we leave behind” with eyes closed, heads gently swaying.  

Kim performs another fan favourite ‘Lucifer’ with no backing tonight, provoking something of a singalong. It’s no surprise that Camden’s legions respond to Kim asking the titular Light-bringer to “share this wine / Bitter and black like my love”. Last time I saw him perform this was as a tipsy trio with the unholy neofolk triad of King Dude and Sol Invictus, and – while making for a memorable occasion – I’m pleased that Kim’s solo show gives him the opportunity to perform it with the sincerity it deserves.  

He delivers a truly stellar version of ‘Sunspot’, another classic from The Lone Descent, adding a new level of power and emotion to the effective, if somewhat cold and detached, album version. It might sound strange but, by the time Kim sings ‘I Crave For You’, I feel so happy. :Of the Wand and the Moon: songs are consistently melancholy, but never gloomy; they are unflinchingly bleak and desolate, yet genuinely beautiful. So I’m overjoyed to hear these sad songs performed again. 

Jaye Jayle are for fans of anyone who plays the blues and really means it, but without being a Blues Band. In fact, there’s no-one quite like them. The band is Evan on lead vocals and guitar; Todd on bass; Neal on drums; and Corey on everything else (guitar, various synths and keys). I was at Evan’s last show in London, supporting Årabrot in the Dome, where he performed tracks from 2023’s mesmerizing Don’t Let Your Love Life Get You Down solo, with three massive amps. I loved it, super excited to see these engagingly soporific songs in any form at all, but especially in this manner which sounded huge and felt special. Nonetheless, I’m genuinely thrilled to see the full Jaye Jayle band again, because they’re amongst my favourites: for the way the band gels together so well, as well as the quality songs and the unique feel of their live delivery. 

Opener ‘Warm Blood and Honey’ perfectly demonstrates Jay Jayle’s carefully constructed minimalism. This song title could refer to Evan’s voice: sonorous and wide, sensitive and kind. His band understand the power of the right note in the right place and nothing more very well. Clad low-key in all black, their playing is allowed to speak for itself. Neal’s kit is stripped back as it is, and he’s not afraid to put his mallets down until he’s needed: a gentle, creeping rhythm for some of the verse; a few short rhymical stabs to accentuate the chorus; and he’s done. A single bass note from Todd has more impact than a whole line by most players.  

Following the order of Don’t Let Your Love Life Get You Down, Jaye Jayle launch into ‘The Party of Redemption’, an incredible and enigmatic song that evokes a unique feeling: ominous, a little sad, yet so warm and relaxed. It feels a little more energetic live, a little heavier, but that feeling is very much there. ‘House Cricks’ takes the pace down even further, slow, brooding, with synths swooping from one side of the venue to the other.  

Todd gets to lay down a dirty bass line on new/old track ‘Bloody Me’, an early Jaye Jayle song re-recorded for forthcoming album After Alter (2025). This is heavy, blues rock just the way you like it, but not quite as you’ve heard it before: it’s tough but sensitive. . . and it sounds great segueing into the crisp Krautrock rhythm of ‘Cemetary Rain’. Now everyone – band and audience – have their eyes closed; you’re gonna get lost in this one, “out… in the cemetery rain”. 

Evan isn’t here to chat with us, but the warmth he feels for his fans and for his band is obvious from the few comments he does make. Speaking to him down the road in Raven Records prior to the show, Evan explained that Jaye Jayle has had the same line-up for years and they’re like family to him. They even hang out together off tour. And this is evident on stage, where they seem entirely relaxed in each other’s company, exchanging smiles, and giving each other space both physically and sonically. When Evan introduces them, there is no ego or competition or irony: they all just clearly really like each other. And that’s a refreshing thing to witness.  

Evan explains that ‘The Florist’ is a sad song, and we pause, “about a florist that accidentally kills someone,” and we’re not quite sure if it’s okay to laugh; “Their life was like a flower, you see.” 

It’s at some point here that I’m watching Corey play guitar and piano at the same time, strumming a chord here then leaning over to stab one there. Closing song ‘Hope Faith Country’ is another favourite, on which Evan’s cracked drawl is allowed to achieve its full gravity. They leave the stage. . . only to be summoned back for ‘The Beast Keeps Cool”, and we’re singing and grooving again.  

“The beast, he keeps cool, light-hearted and fun”, a sentiment that applies to both Jayle Jayle and :Of the Wand and the Moon: in different respects and equal measure. And it’s a perfect pairing from Old Empire, demonstrating once again why they deliver some of the most exciting shows in the UK underground.