Music
Reviewed: Lorde @ Brixton Academy, London
The stage looks like the set of dark 90’s film Death Becomes Her with shadowy chandeliers, mysterious purple lighting and a backdrop to rival the hallways of the London Dungeon. This is clearly a production with one girl’s name on.
Brixton Academy has finally opened its doors to the heavily anticipated, alternative talent that is Lorde. If you’re not familiar, (have you been in a cave?) she’s the stunning hipster-slash-gothic songstress from New Zealand currently astounding the world of music.
The striking singer, dressed in a slick butler tuxedo and a cape of her own crazy, brown locks, has sold-out many top venues across the UK, America and Australia in showcasing her first album, Pure Heroine. To say the Auckland-born song-writer is a force of nature (and we’re not talking about the hair) is a grave, grave understatement.
Lorde – real name Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor – completely bulldozed the Grammy Awards last year, winning two (two!); one for Best Pop Solo Performance, the other for Song of the Year (that be ‘Royals’). This year, our very own BRIT Awards chucked her the accolade for International Female Solo Artist. The girl, you could say, is doing rather well. And, she’s only 17.
The teenager dances like she’s having a musical exorcism. Her lungs are pitch-perfect and her love of performing is painstakingly obvious. This is not what we were expecting from someone so young.
Lorde’s electro-pop-driven sound sparks several rounds of ‘fist-pumps’ from the 4000-strong audience. Her soulful voice confidently compliments the mix of tech beats, haunting loops and soft endings.
In a rare dialogue to the audience, she admits that her biggest fear is growing up, “I get scared about getting older, because grown-ups don’t have what we have.” She continues, “But the paradox is, I am here in this sold-out venue and every day I get to share my life with people like you. If this is growing up, then f**k yeah.”
Her penultimate song of the night ‘Royals’ is sung along with a choir of tipsy fans of all ages, as expected. While ‘Team’, with the arena filled with fizzling smoke cannons and glittering confetti, brilliantly ends the evening on a high.
For many tonight will be remembered for witnessing a young, raw talent, growing as a performer and revelling in her career infancy. For those disappointed with the lack of a show (some people have expressed a want for more dancers…more variation…more ‘wow’) remember, the girl’s only 17.