13th November 2012, Academy 2
6/10
New Zealand born Ladyhawke was welcomed onto stage with a roar of cheers from her dedicated fan base whilst her awkward but cool demeanour earned a sense of endearment from the less familiar members of the audience. The set opener, ‘Back of the Van’, a tune from her debut album Ladyhawke, instantly expressed her obvious 80s influences, with the guitar and synth sounds dominating the ear. She continued to perform plenty from her debut album as well as tracks from her recent release, Anxiety. Older tracks like ‘Professional Suicide’, ‘Magic’, ‘Dusk ‘til Dawn’ and ‘Better Than Sunday’ were broken up with some newer repertoire such the singles ‘Blue Eyes’ and ‘Sunday Drive’, however to the untrained ear, the general gist of every song was similar almost to the extent of confusion. Nevertheless, it cannot be taken away from her that her set was exciting, with the soaring synths, accessible melodies and guitar riffs and distorted bass lines being delivered with a cool confidence.
The demographic also showed her 80s influences off, with the younger generations crowded at the front experiencing this electronic rock music for the first time, whilst the teenagers of the 80s were gathered towards the back appreciating the nostalgia of it and the reflection on artists like Cyndi Lauper, Duran Duran and later bands like Nirvana. ‘Paris is Burning’ finished off the set, of which the punchy guitar riffs and rhythms transformed the crowd into a sea of bobbing bodies. The encore started with a cover of Jefferson Airplane’s ‘White Rabbit’, which, admittedly, was lost on the majority of the younger clientele, but her inevitable encore ender, ‘My Delirium’, was received with cheers of recognition and appreciation. So, although Ladyhawke can very much be described as a one trick pony, her live show was energetic and enjoyable.
