I arrived at the Castle & Falcon as indie pop singer Number One Popstar was mid song but the stage was empty and after a search I found her in the middle of tonight`s intimate audience. Kate Jean Hollowell seems to be flying solo these days after fronting Los Angeles-based punk band Slut Island. This short set was high on energy but short on songs as the singer spent a lot of time in the audience and dragging various victims on stage to dance, look as if they are playing guitar or take live feed footage on a phone. The songs when shared are pretty well constructed melodic pop ear worms such as `I Hate Running` and `Psycho` which may well be self-analytical. i`m not sure how No1PS sees her future as tonight`s performance is a mix of humour, which didn`t always translate to this English audience and some catchy tunes. Still, it`s fun while it lasts.
Three-piece indie rock band Dehd hit the stage with a “Hi we`re Dehd from Chicago” and head into forty minutes of tracks old and new which are at times a blend of kind of retro rock n roll mixed with Pixies like shredding riffs. We have vocals from both Emily Kempf, and Jason Balla individually and together, while Eric McGrady beats out a steady rhythm on a stand up drumkit.
Songs like `Haha` had a delightfully dream pop ambience with intricate guitar chords, while `Disappear` had a captivating shuffling drum beat and lyrics laconically shared.
Jason Balla at times swayed all over the place as if drunk and occasionally duckwalked which seems to be something of trademark in live outings.
`Window` demonstrated the dexterity of the band as it has such a haunting quality about it and `Bad Love` had an enticing almost retro fifties feel with almost resonating guitar riffs and a singalong chorus.
But as all good things come to an end, so did this set and with only another couple of shows in the UK before they head into Europe, it`ll be the Autumn before the trio return to these shores for further shows. In the meantime, you can console yourself listening to their latest release `Blue Skies` and their gripping 2020 release `Flower Of Devotion`
