He may be the latest in a line of post-Winehouse Brit-soul singers, but Bryn Christopher is something different. For one thing, he is a bloke. Striding on to the stage in an immaculate grey suit, white shirt and tie, the 21-year-old from Birmingham evoked the era of Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett before he even opened his mouth. The impression was confirmed as soon as he launched into My World, the title track of his debut album, released on Monday.

The song was steeped in the rhythmic and harmonic style of the Stax label, the Memphis record company that defined the sound of 1960s soul and whose back catalogue Christopher has sampled for use on his album (he is the first act to have done this legally). His backing band, with their leader Lennox Cameron supplying the horn section parts on his keyboard, reproduced the feel of the album with an earthy brilliance, although they were a little undisciplined at times. If they had been working for James Brown they would have had their wages docked for the chaotic finish to Found a New Love, although the song itself was a stunner – sassy and street-smart.

And there were plenty of other points in the set where a cash bonus for both singer and band would surely have been called for. The snappy rhythm-section groove of Seconds Ago made it a superb dancefloor filler, while a revved-up version of Portishead’s song Sour Times recalled the more stylish, electro-soul model of Fine Young Cannibals.

On a completely different tack, My Kinda Woman, a slow ballad in the I’ve Been Loving You Too Long mould, found Christopher in full testifying mode. Here his voice had a genuinely appealing tone and impressive range, particularly in the falsetto register. If he has yet to attain the emotional gravitas of his heroes – let alone anything to match their originality – that is hardly surprising. But this was an energetic and engaging display of the retro-soulman’s art.

Tour continues tonight at Bodega Social, Nottingham

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