I am consistently reminded how poor I am at overestimating and also underestimating musical groups’ popularity. So it was last Tuesday, when I arrived at EartH in Hackney expecting a sore bum sitting on the wooden stands of the ex-theatre sizable room. Instead, I found myself in the smaller, underground room, and despite turning up only shortly before the support was due to come on stage, the room was not the thronging sea of fans I had expected.
Making my way easily to become a member of the second or third row from the front, the lights lowered and Buenos Aires native Maia Kalwill took to the stage. Despite a set replete with some intriguing tunes and the endearing fact that her father was touring with her, playing her backing tracks from the sound deck, it was a programme that lacked impact.
Clearly a talented singer, the lack of live band hampered the songs landing in any meaningful way, while the vocals themselves – though impeccably delivered – all blurred into a similar timbre and rhythm. Kalwill, perhaps understandably nervous at supporting a legendary band in the UK’s capital, also didn’t have the on-stage persona to endear herself to an expectant, perhaps impatient crowd. An ill-judged ‘encore’ capped off a support slot that felt more karaoke than anything else and is unlikely to live long in the memory of most present.
That said, the voice is there, and with the camaraderie of a live band to bolster her electropop vision and more experience on the road, perhaps the Argentinian can prove more entrancing next time she hits our shores.
CocoRosie took to the stage looking entirely the part, replete with their vaudeville theatrical attire and children’s toys as instruments, as well as an impressive array of keyboards and synthesisers, a waterphone, and a trio string arrangement (two violins and cello), and a drummer set quarter-side to the growing audience.
The duo of sisters – Biana and Sierra Casady – and their impressive supporting troupe of musicians and collaborators threw themselves into a dazzling set that traversed a career of over two decades. Their new album, Little Death Wishes, was unsurprisingly foregrounded, but the pair delightfully offered forth a pick ‘n’ mix of older material too, from where it all started, 2004’s La maison de mon rêve to their prior LP, the start-of-Covid released Put the Shine On.
On record I have always enjoyed the pair’s vocal interchange, juxtaposing as they do between the classically trained operatic and twee 60s pop stylings of Sierra Casady and the duality of Bianca’s voice, veering between pinched indie reminiscent of Karin Dreijer and Sia Furler, and a talking rap vibe that Lauryn Hill famously occasionally employed. On record it works wonderfully. Live, one realises the pair haven’t actually managed to quite capture the magic on tape yet. Both of their vocals stretch to greater extremes, making their interchange all the more enchanting and wondrous.
The backing musicians performed wonders of their own, providing a near effortless backdrop to the sisters’ performance. The two of them enjoyed what could quite easily be labelled an unconventional childhood, and that has set the scene for not only how they view the world and continue to approach their art, but also how they constantly hark back to childhood – both the one they experienced and perhaps other facets they didn’t – in both the ‘instruments’ played (both found and bought) and in the often-purposeful innocence and naïveite of their lyrics. It’s an uncanny arrangement that takes the listener on a journey of discovery and revelation, unburdened by the experience and seriousness of adulthood.
With a headline set clocking in at roughly one hundred minutes, CocoRosie certainly tested and quite honestly breached my personal definition of “too much of a good thing”, but – happily – all of it was a “good thing” with absolutely no dips in quality or intensity. I’m aware I’m handily in the minority of listeners who will always favour a shorter, curated set, even from their favourite band in the world, and it was clear many audience members would not only be prepared to listen for another hour or more, but very much wanted that to happen.
The sisters did come back for a joyous encore. With an opening song to their set expressing “Free Palestine!”, Bianca became emotional when returning to the stage to speak out once more. As many reading this review will know, the genesis of their musical endeavour was the sisters reconnecting after a decade of little to no communication, and CocoRosie clearly remains so dear to them for serving as the means of that reconnection. As the last notes of the last song ebbed out of EartH Hall’s sound-system the pair embraced once more, waved gleefully to an adoring audience, and filtered off stage.
Upon leaving, I noticed that while the venue had filled up more, it was still far from full. Shame on any with a love of the theatrical and off-kilter when it comes to their art-pop and folktronica for not being present, but how blessed those of us at EartH were to witness it. Over two decades in the game, CocoRosie deserved a larger audience in London, but what a gift they gave to those dedicated enough to turn out on a sunny Tuesday.
