Lycanthropy (n). The ability to assume the characteristics of a wolf.

The 21-year old Patrick Wolf's debut album was a hyperactive collection which veered between folk, drum 'n' bass, and unclassifiable eccentricity, and while it had moments of dark beauty, it also had large chunks of confusing babble about childcatchers and becoming a wolf.

The hysterically-received follow-up, Wind In The Wires, is a different beast altogether.

The restless energy is still there, but has been harnessed into creating a much more cohesive and focused journey into Wolf's isolated neo-Dickensian world.

The arch humour has been replaced by language much more poetic and evocative, and the more wilfully eclectic musical elements have been restrained.

Last night, Wolf left Fibbers stunned; this is what it must have been like to see Jeff Buckley during his famous early caf shows. The more organic recent sound was represented with a minimal live setup, featuring just Wolf and a drummer, and only the most indispensable instruments: a ukulele, a violin, and a piano. This bought to the forefront his newly-discovered vocal range; a haunting moan less showy than Buckley's, but no less potent.

For those only familiar with Wolf's early work, last night's show demonstrated a transformation almost as astonishing as his lycanthropic tales; a maturation from purveyor of interesting but crude attention-deficit-ridden indie-pop to potentially hugely significant musical force.

Visionary (n). An individual with unusual powers of foresight. An individual like Patrick Wolf.

Updated: 11:44 Tuesday, March 29, 2005