Eliza and the Bear @ the Waterfront Studio
We all by now know that there is neither an Eliza nor a Bear in Eliza And The Bear.
There's a good crowd in the Waterfront studio tonight for this, the third night of Eliza And The Bear's first big headlining tour.
Slowlights, a four piece from Essex open, and seem surprised to be performing to so many. With the standard indie-guitar line-up, and occasional use of keyboards, the sound is firmly in the Coldplay camp, although the Celtic flourishes on lead guitar, and driving drums hint at distant echoes of both U2 and Big Country.
KLOË is the chosen moniker of one 19 year old Chloe Latimer from Glasgow who already has the attention of Zane Lowe, and appeared in several 'ones to watch' lists for 2016. Her vibrant, yet at times dark and moody style of electro-pop draws immediate comparisons with Chvrches, yet there is also a real pop honesty that also acknowledges both Ellie Goulding and Taylor Swift. The youthful attitude reminds me of that other 'capitals' songstress SOAK , with a refreshing can-do approach that recognises no limits. It's a brave act to sandwich between two sets of indie-rockers, but she serves up an aural feast tonight.
We all by now know that there is neither an Eliza nor a Bear in Eliza And The Bear – the name comes from the collection of dark poems by Eleanor Rees. We've seen the videos on YouTube and we know what to expect, but live on stage this five-piece certainly rock a lot harder. Without the studio horns they sound much less Mumford than I was expecting. To simply compare them with Dry The River is also unfair – there's definite strains of Flaming Lips in the uplifting Light It Up and also touches of Arcade Fire.
The set opens with the familiar Lion's Heart, and after new songs like Oxygen being dropped into the performance we end with an encore co-orchestrated by band and audience, and they close with Friends and It Gets Cold.
They're good, in fact they're damn good, but it's that sandwich filler KLOË that we're all talking about as we leave tonight.
