Guardian today p38

Dave Simpson
Thursday July 20, 2006
The Guardian

Four months since Sandi Thom's famous "21 nights from Tooting" webcasts from her basement won her a major record deal and a number one album, Thom is again tucked away in an intimate venue. Still, at least the smallest room in Sheffield Leadmill has salubrious delights beyond what her PR bumf once over-descriptively called her "piss-stained basement". But while she may have hacked it on a laptop, even in a venue this size Thom seems out of her depth.
Struggling to dominate the stage, she confesses: "I feel a bit pukey." It's difficult not to have sympathy, but a seated percussionist and bassist don't help create atmosphere.
A more uncomfortable truth is that Thom simply doesn't have the songs. A cover of Gnarls Barkley's Crazy pads out an alarmingly thin set. Steve Wonder's Livin' for the City is dedicated to "the entire population of Sheffield for being such a wonderful city", but is so flat you wouldn't blame them all for immediately relocating to the country. Time, a disarmingly tender, delicate song sung Kathryn Williams-style, offers hope of a new direction, but everything else is sung in a faux Stevie Nicks American accent. Although her hit single I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair) yearns for the days when music "meant something", Thom is a product of our age. She celebrates being "on the Virgin playlist!" and shouts "Make some noise if you're having a good time!" in a song about loneliness.

There must be hundreds of similarly so-so Jonis and Alanises dotted around the country without the internet access Thom enjoyed. She'll be remembered for that, but unless there are serious readjustments to her set, the moment may already have passed.

I've always had a feeling she seems out of her depth, perhaps it's a PR stunt for Sandi to play shit sets and gain more press
A 20 date, big UK tour coming up in October should be fun then!

Perhaps it won't be long until Sandi is back in the 'p*ss stained' basement!