Lorde - O2 Academy Brixton, London - June 6, 2014 (Live Review)
Monday, 09 June 2014
Written by Huw Baines
Photo: Garth Badger
The roar, when it comes, is deafening. Striding on stage at Brixton Academy and lit by a solitary spotlight, Ella Yelich-O’Connor, all of 17, is confronted by pandemonium. Her fans just won’t stop screaming, punctuating the halting opening of Glory and Gore with bursts of uncoordinated noise.
It’s the sort of response that most of the people crammed into the famous venue have rarely heard, let alone actively participated in. Scattered throughout are bearded 40-somethings, sleeveless punks, teen girls in black lipstick and representatives of the after-work crowd. Lorde, it appears, has this mass appeal thing down.
The reasons are fairly plain to see. ‘Pure Heroine’, her debut, is an alt-pop record of rare quality, boasting outsider narratives, arresting melodies and downbeat electro in equal measure. Live, it’s immediately apparent that the personality that runs through her wiser-than-her-years lyrics is only amplified on stage.
From the opening drop of Glory and Gore, the set is perfectly co-ordinated. No song is sacred, with many reworked for maximum effect and bolstered by a symbiotic light show that frequently casts Lorde in silhouette, her mane of hair flailing to trigger movement dancing.
Tennis Court is aired early on, following a dip into her ‘Love Club’ EP with Biting Down, and Royals late in the day, but both singles, while well-received, are far from the centrepiece.
It’s clear, from Lorde’s passionate intro about the difficulties of growing up to the screams that greet its opening note, that Ribs is of particular resonance, while Buzzcut Season’s chorus is carried aloft by one of the evening’s standout vocal performances. A take on Easy, her collaboration with Son Lux, is monstrous, its bari sax hook reshaped over a thunderous beat.
The use of backing tracks to recreate some of her album’s layered harmonies may test the patience of some but, in truth, Lorde’s vocals are largely flawless and particularly effective on a cover of Swingin Party, from the Replacements’ classic ‘Tim’.
It’s Team that produces a perfect storm, though, with its intro extended to accentuate a thudding beat and its middle section dragged out to allow a costume change. Clad in a swirling gold cape, Lorde spins out the final chorus as confetti whips across the crowd. It’s the oldest trick in the book, but one that still slaps grins on faces when done properly.
Yelich-O’Connor may appear to have an otherworldly cool about her, an air of mysterious detachment, but the connection between performer and crowd tonight runs way, way below the surface. Her words speak of youth in terms that even the most grizzled of music fans can understand, while her performance style is singularly hers. Piling onto a Victoria Line train post-show, one man turns to a friend and says: “It’s stupid, but I feel like one day she’ll do something revolutionary, you know.”
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