NEWS
EVENTS
Daughter - Performing in a Church Near You
Indie | Tuesday 12th February 2013 | Thisbe
Currently touring worldwide on their sold-out debut tour are folksy trio Daughter. Touting their latest EP The Wild Youth, and preparing for the release of their debut album If You Leave (18th March) the band are headlining a dizzying amount of shows, a tribute to their escalating popularity.
There’s no denying it they are tipped for great things. Yet nobody could expect any less from a band who mastered their debut record at Abbey Road Studios with producers who have worked with Adele and The XX.
The emerging indie-folk triad from London have gained a dedicated following since their sold-out headline show at Assembly Hall London saw them snapped up by label 4AD. Comprising of pixie-like singer Elena Tonra, jack-of-all-trades Remi Aguilella and guitarist Igor Haifeli, who’s not averse to dropping his plectrum for a violin bow. Their self-released EP’s have come as a breath of fresh air in an ever-saturated pool of post-Sheeran ‘organic artists’.
Interestingly, the band have opted to stage several of their shows in churches around the country, one of which I was lucky enough to grab tickets for - much to the horror of my seasoned gig companion Ben, who not as clued up on their delicate sound as I would have hoped, had visions of hellish reverb accompanied by numb arse and a naughty bottle of Jesus-juice up his jumper.
Yet if anyone had thought the band was about to make a disastrous location-blunder, they would be eating their frosty-breathed words.
As a respectful and curious pack of fans feed into the church, filling pews and parking down in the aisles crossed-legged, there is an air of respectfulness and lots of excited snapping and tweeting from the younger fans. Thankfully, drinks are on offer too, we grab a couple of JD’s from the ‘bar’, and grab a pew at the front.
Supported by Icelandic songstress Lay Low, who performs an achingly cute little set, warming up the crowd with her Norah Jones-esque numbers, when the band finally mumbles on to stage, it is with nervous humility. They are an instantly likeable gang. Commencing with ‘Run’ the B-Side from previous single ‘Smother’, the tone is set for a very unique evening.
The band employ a great effort in the build-up of sound in their music, with the swelling noise emphasizing the melodrama in Tonra’s lyrics, until her vocals become lingering howls in the wind of sound. She definitely commands the show, despite her underwhelming presence. Live, they are as dark yet fragile as you would expect from a band that sings ‘throw me in the landfill, don’t think about the consequences’ with graceful, angelic delivery. And when Igor deftly whips out his violin bow and begins sawing out ungodly sounds around Tonra’s emotionally apocalyptic vocals, it is an affair that could wake the dead.
Supposed anthem and crowd favourite ‘Youth’ is a highlight, and any doubts about the strange location are quashed as the church-induced reverb creates a full and howling ghostlike sound. Yet the show-stealer has to be ‘Lifeforms’ from the forthcoming album, a devastating track that has most of the crowd wet-cheeked. A hint as to what’s to be expected from the new release.
With the band’s emotionally apocalyptic sound, followers could be forgiven for expecting a macabre evening, yet this is wholeheartedly not the case! The band have a warm presence, with Tonra tentatively asking, ‘Um…are you alright?’ after the particularly epic ‘Shallows’, ‘You’re very quiet!’ she giggles nervously. I hear someone comment that the crowd is very respectful. The chastened fear of god could be responsible…yet my bet is on the extraordinary collective feeling that comes with witnessing something truly special with 200+ strangers.
This is an experience not to be missed, and if you can beg for tickets from anywhere, I would advise folk fans to do so. It’s the type of emotionally laid-bare overload of a show that might incline gig-goers to hug that someone special a little closer tonight, or for singletons to wrap their sheets a little tighter, comforted in the fact that you’re not alone in this.
Preview newly released video for latest single “Still’ on YouTube
If You Leave is available for pre-order on CD and Vinyl from Rough Trade* and Amazon
*The band will also be performing an exclusive set at Rough Trade East on 19th March, to fans who pre-order through the seller.
