No dicking about. Mattiel: Earth, Dalston, 12 July 2019

21.59. That's the time Mattiel came off stage. After the encore. They ripped through their songs like they'd read the curfew notes wrong - and finished an hour early. 

But I love that. Too many bands, with only two albums to their name, fill, pad and do cover versions. But Mattiel - the band is called after the surname of lead singer Mattiel Brown - gave it up without feeling like they had to go on longer than needs be. 

And I've often talked about things like stage presence and reacting with the crowd. Mattiel Brown has natural stage presence. Gig buddy Steve reckoned she might have skipped a bit too much but I say that anything that gets someone around a stage and stops them being a 'shoe-gazer' is OK in my book. 

The two albums, 'Mattiel' and 'Satis Factory’ - the latter released last month - are certainly worth a listen. I think Mattiel's worked hard to cut out the cliches in the lyrics and the band have developed a distinctive sound. But it also sounds like it's straight out of Atlanta, Georgia. And we got to hear it in Dalston. 

After the gig, she came to the back of the hall and signed merchandise. I think she'll soon be too big and famous to do that. And so, last night, we were the lucky ones.