REVIEW: Radio-friendly electronic pop from Kiwi songstress Ladyhawke

Ladyhawke and Alice Jemima, The Haunt, Brighton, June 18
LadyhawkeLadyhawke
Ladyhawke

The Haunt does somehow remind me of a tiny version of what the Brighton Top Rank used to be like in its gigs heyday, with a similar layout.

This evening it played host to Ladyhawke, who was touring to promote her brand new chart album Wild Things.

But more about her shortly.

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The warm up artist was 23-year-old Alice Jemima who was promoting her four-track EP Liquorice. According to her website she “merges sultry sweet vocals with contemporary electronic production”, which is accurate.

The more songs Alice performed, the more of the crowd she got on board. She sedately unleashed songs from her EP, as well as her own take on the 1996 hit ‘No Diggity’ by Blackstreet and Dr Dre.

She could go far if the right manager hears about her.

Now onto 36-year-old Kiwi electro-pop songstress Phillipa Margaret Brown, aka Ladyhawke.

For those of you who enjoy commercial, radio-friendly electronic pop in the same vein as Chvrches – mixed with a slight hint of Kim Wilde and The Pretenders – Ladyhawke is for you.

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The excited crowd were treated to an enjoyable 16-song set by Ladyhawke and her three male chums, which was surprisingly made up of nine tunes from the debut 2008 Ladyhawke platter (which won Album of the Year in New Zealand), a single one from the 2012 Anxiety album and six choice cuts from the excellent Wild Things album.

Being a synth sound boff myself, I personally thought that the standout tracks were ‘A Love Song’ and ‘Sweet Fascination’ although regrettably she did not choose to play ‘Dangerous’.

It’s fair to say that every song tonight was well received by the compact crowd and that Ladyhawke must surely win the award for consuming the most amount of bottled water during a show.

Or was it just a ruse to sneak a peep at the setlist or lyrics book placed on the floor next door to the water?

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The important thing is Ladyhawke enjoyed herself too. The following day she tweeted: “Thank you so much to everyone who came to The Haunt in Brighton last night! What an amazing way to end the UK tour!”

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