Black Orchid Empire are a tough band to categorise – which makes the trio brilliant in our book.
At once dark – as on the opener “Singularity” – their work is all about textures. “Hydrogen” is as ambitious and expansive as any Katatonia song, and the breakdown is vicious, as if to prove they’re heavier than you ever remembered.
“Angelfire” is their current single, and deserves to be heard, while “Evergreen” continues the heavy yet beguiling and bewitching vibe they’ve nailed.
You’d imagine being a “rock star” doesn’t sit well with any of them, and Paul Visser has a style all his own, finding some handclaps in “My Favourite Stranger.” If he removes his hairband part way through the magnificent “Death From Above” – as he did a couple of years back when we last saw them – then the headbanging is well and truly earned.
That night, in April 2023, we ended the review with the thought that BOE “go a little under the radar. That needs to change.” It still does, but this half-hour only serves to underline their class.
Marisa and the Moths reckon they’re ready for a party, as they switch gear for “Skin.” With scuzzy, punky vibes, it’s at odds with opener “Needy,” which soars with class and confidence.
Marisa Rodriguez is very much the focal point – not least because her voice carries early track “Tied Up,” dusted off for this run. She is sensational.
There’s an imperceptible danger lurking below these songs – “Get It Off My Chest” drips with lust, and you kind of believe the line “I can’t control what happens next” might be real.
That sense of walking a tightrope – where it could go wrong at a moment’s notice – is underlined by the twice-started “Give It Away.” And as much as you don’t want to go with the obvious comparison, it’s hard not to think of Hole at times.
“Fake It Till You Make It” feels anthemic, and as Rodriguez climbs onto the barrier, you can’t shake the feeling that she’s never seen a crowd she couldn’t win over.
But the band have layers, and “Borderline” is as close as it gets to balladry, with phones lighting the venue.
“Porch” sees bassist Liam take centre stage. He reckons he needs “Rennies and whiskey,” and his voice is appropriately whiskey-soaked to match.
Rodriguez follows with her acoustic, brave and raw “If You Knew.” Stripped back as it is, it’s one of the most powerful songs they play tonight.
It does, though, “end the soppiness,” and the angry “Gaslight” is visceral. Given that it’s about the singer’s ex-boyfriend, it clearly comes from a very dark place.
“Devil” rumbles and sees them in the crowd, and guitarist Alex D’Elia stars on “How Did You Get So Weak?”
Last year’s “What Doesn’t Kill You” album provides the backbone here, but the 2020 debut gives us the singalong “Choke.”
They’re back to recent material for “SAD.”
More than once, the band says they’re enjoying this show more than they have in ages, with Rodriguez saying, “I don’t want this one to end.” That enjoyment radiates off the stage as they deliver “Just Like Me” and the superb, slow-building closer “Who Are You Waiting For.” Marisa and the Moths have the songs – and the presence – to be playing bigger venues than this.
And the 80-odd minutes is more than enough to make clear why there’s such a buzz about these Moths.
Watch them fly.
