oval space – and so she thinks

Waxahatchee at Oval Space

admin — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 09:18:53 +0000

It’s a Monday night, but the pubs around Oval Space are heaving, as this little corner of London gets ready to welcome Waxahatchee.

Tonight is the first gig of the tour, and with it comes a new support. Ex-Void might be dressed in matching pastel, but their tunes are certainly not tranquil. Led by Alanna McArdle and Owen Williams, former members of the now defunct pop-punk group Joanna Gruesome, they make vital and viscious music that ricochets around the warehouse. Treating us to a short set, they blast through tunes including recent single Boyfriend.

Waxahatchee enter the stage whilst the sun is setting outside. Katie Crutchfield is seems genuinely happy to be joined by her band, and the five piece elevate solo tunes to bold songs. Symphonic and aggressive, they play from across the outfits four albums, American Weekend (2012), Cerulean Salt (2013), Ivy Tripp (2015), and Out in the Storm (2017). Never Been Wrong, Sparks Fly and Poison get some rapturous response. The encore is a muted affair, with Alison playing three songs on her guitar, including a new one.

Visions 2015

admin — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 18:17:00 +0000

Three years in, and Visions Festival shows no sign of losing its enthusiasm and power at the same time as it marks itself as a reliably brilliant stalwart in the London festival scene. The maudlin lilt of Camera Obscura, frantic fuzz courtesy of Merchandise, angry punk by Fat White Family and Son Lux‘s digital bliss are just a few of the highlights on this year’s lineup. A stumble through Hackney’s independent venues including St John’s, Oval Space, The Laundry, Brewhouse and Netil House. As well as the music there’s a market, and of course local food and craft beer. If you can’t quite wait until the Saturday, Ceremony will be playing the pre party on the Friday night, in a secret Hackney location.
Tickets are available here, and you can have a listen below.

Visions Festival

admin — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 15:05:01 +0000

In the year when the successful Camden Crawl folded, the outlook for Visions was mixed. Was the RIP of CC a sign that we are over wristband festivals, or was it just that new blood is needed. After a successful debut last year, the Hackney one-dayer, with 28 bands playing across four venues, complete with a Record Fair, Comic Book convention, Tattoo art exhibition and Netil Food truck market, wasn’t so grand in scale, but succeeded in inspiration, intimacy and diversity.

In the craft beer hub Brewhouse sophisticated electropop from New Zealand quartet Yumi Zouma has elements of rolling melodies, whilst jangle pop was there in all glory at arts studio Oval Space, with guaranteed good time Veronica Falls and Mollie Rankin’s from Toronto’s Alvvays connective clamour.

Eleanor Friedberger persevered through a chatty crowd in the New Empowering Church, and playing with warm heart and soul endeared the crowd, as the delicate vocals of Swedish sweetheart Alice Boman had earlier.

The Laundry is certainly the heavy house, with the Cheetahs early set leaning to loud grunge rather than melodic shoegaze. It gets heavier for Leeds’ Eagulls, and shocktastic for Perfume Pussy. Andrew WK’s audience are there to party hard. Violent dancing, destroyed amplifiers, stage invasions and crowdsurfing, only ending as W.K’s microphone and piano were unplugged. Crazed carnage.

As frustrating as it us, when nearly all day major band clashes are on, it’s a sign of a stellar line-up is a good one. Whilst Perfume Genius played what I heard to be a deep, atmospheric and beautiful set Policia were haunting and slick as usual, there was the feeling that they may have been a bit weary after their string of festival performances.

Visions – I see a good future ahead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgeLb4QAC6M