She Drew the Gun at Chalk, Brighton

Louisa Roach’s music with She Drew The Gun has always been passionate and plain-spoken, addressing the major issues within modern society through a combination of musical genres.

When watching her band play live at Chalk on Saturday (February 19), it was clear Roach was taking this voice and sound to another, free-flowing, electronic level.

She Drew The Gun’s latest album – Behave Myself – was released on October 1, 2021 on Submarine Cat Records. The band kicked off their Brighton show with the opening track from that record, Orgin Song. The slow heavy baseline, spinning syths and harmonic pop melodies signals a beginning of a journey for the audience, as Roach and her crew take them to a new psych-pop dimension.

This voyage went up a gear, as the big-beats of Resister and Behave Myself perfectly soundtracked the start to a Saturday night on the South Coast.

Following this heavy start, Roach deviated to the softer, dream-like Wolf and Bird and Since You Were Not Mine, a reminder of the 39-year-old’s ability to craft emotive personal stories in her songs, as well as producing the memorable protest anthems.

The Brighton show was one of the last in this current tour, and the band’s weariness from their travels became evident in Something For The Pain, Pit Pony and Innerspeak.

Roach is a proud socialist and feminist, and these beliefs seep heavily into her music. Next On The List and Class War are prime examples of this, and the bands passion to support Roach’s visionary lyrics really drive the live performances of these tracks.

The man of the match performance on the night has to go to keyboardist Jenni Kickhefer, whose persistent appetite for the music and striking dance moves elevated every song she played on.

The electronic rock of Cut Me Down, Paradise and Trouble Every Day are then driven through the speakers, before an encore which showcased all aspects of the She Drew The Gun sound ended the night perfectly.

The sensitive Poem acts as perfect juxtaposition to the futuristic sounding Resister Reprise and Panopticon, complimented by an impressive light display to add to the other-worldly vibe of the final two tracks.

While it may have lacked vigour in certain places, there was no doubting She Drew The Gun created a fun, dystopian disco for the whole audience to enjoy.