The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMusicLive music

Laurel at the Dome

Laurel at the Dome | Live review
5 October 2018
The editorial unit
Avatar
The editorial unit
5 October 2018

Music review

The editorial unit

Laurel at the Dome

★★★★★

Highlights

All Star, Empty Kisses

Links

Twitter Facebook Instagram Soundcloud Website

Midway through covering The Talking Head’s This Must Be the Place, Laurel stops and confesses to the audience that she can’t remember the lyrics, emits a relaxed chuckle and decides to start again. It’s the first time tonight that the 24-year-old singer, who released her debut album Dogviolet on 24th August, has shown her relative youth. Not that the crowd at the Dome cares; if anything this charming stumble has only added a missing sense of vulnerability to an otherwise remarkably self-possessed performance by an enormously promising artist.

Beginning with fan-favourite All Star, Laurel forms the front of a four-piece band, strumming her electric guitar with a reserved but marked swagger. The moody chords of the chamber pop ballads that make up most of tonight’s set serve as a perfect springboard for the piercing and rich howls that bursts forth from her lungs. This performance really is a showcasing of a breathtaking voice: a powerful, sonorous timbre that is melancholic, captivating and, most importantly, incredibly controlled. Easily moving from upper to lower registers she sustains each note with ease, perfectly matching her power to the venue’s size. 

It’s when she is left to perform solo that we see a new side. Switching to acoustic guitar the artist mellows to a sweeter, more earnest style. Here she gives us South Coast, written about her hometown of Portsmouth, delivered in a wistful manner that she has held back till now, and follows it with Life Worth Living, one of her most popular tracks, which elicits rounds of cheers from the crowd.

Though her electric guitar and posturing suggest a rock sensibility, Laurel’s hook-heavy and chorus-dominated tunes highlight her pop pedigree. But this is subversive stuff. Each song she sings seems to contain elements of anger, lust and compassion, the focus really being on the grey areas and bittersweet elements of love. In Empty Kisses she pleads to a lover “give me your candy-coloured love”, both criticising a pastel-pink pop version of love, and simultaneously longing for it. This wry tone will no doubt see her carve a solid space for herself, especially as it is attached to one of the strongest and most intriguing voices in UK alt-pop. If tonight’s captivating performance was anything to go by, Laurel will be here to stay for a while.

★★★★★

Kabir Jhala

For further information and future events visit Laurel’s website here.

Watch the video for Life Worth Living here:

Related Itemsfeaturedlive musicreview

More in Live music

Adele lights up Hyde Park for BST Festival

★★★★★
Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

St Vincent at the Hammersmith Apollo

★★★★★
Diletta Lobuono
Read More

The Rollings Stones give Glasto a run for its money at BST Festival in Hyde Park

★★★★★
Sarah Bradbury
Read More

Eagles bring a nostalgia-laden evening to the BST Festival in Hyde Park

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Ed Sheeran at Wembley Stadium

★★★★★
Bev Lung
Read More

Elton John sparkles on his Farewell tour at BST Festival in Hyde Park

★★★★★
Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

Twenty One Pilots at Brixton Academy

★★★★★
Regan Harle
Read More

Imagine Dragons at MK Stadium

★★★★★
Katherine Parry
Read More

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds at Kenwood House

★★★★★
Francis Nash
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Music review

The editorial unit

Laurel at the Dome

★★★★★

Highlights

All Star, Empty Kisses

Links

Twitter Facebook Instagram Soundcloud Website

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Beauty and the Beast: The Musical at London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Paolo Nutini – Last Night in the Bittersweet
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • St Vincent at the Hammersmith Apollo
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • The Railway Children Return
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Netflix Walking Tour: From Bridgerton to The Crown, a free walking tour through the filming locations
    Cinema & Tv
  • The Throne at Charing Cross Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • “We really wanted to create a cabbage gun”: An interview with David Earl and Chris Hayward stars of Brian and Charles
    Cinema & Tv
  • Paolo Nutini – Last Night in the Bittersweet
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Viagra Boys – Cave World
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Ithaka
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Paolo Nutini – Last Night in the Bittersweet
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Viagra Boys – Cave World
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The Railway Children Return
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Adele lights up Hyde Park for BST Festival
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Musical at London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Frieze Art Fair 2018: A kaleidoscope of colour and composition | Exhibition review
Frieze Masters 2018: A visual feast | Exhibition review