Live Review: Echobelly – Thursday 16th October – Electric Ballroom, London
2 min read
On Thursday night we were down at Camden’s Electric Ballroom for Echobelly’s anniversary bash for their superb sophomore release On. Thirty years and four albums later, the band – now just consisting of original members Sonya Madan and Glenn Johansson – are doing a string of shows across the UK, London coming at the mid-way point.
Proceedings began with another 90s Brit-pop legend, Stephen Jones aka. Babybird. The group dished out a series of great tunes from Goodnight to You’re Gorgeous, the latter getting the crowd especially riled up. “If there’s any children in the audience, I’m a f*cking zombie!” he joked before playing If You’ll Be Mine, a song that he commented charted in 1997. You can find his newest material on Bandcamp.
Echobelly emerged on cue to a wave of applause and an ambient drone. Sonya danced about the stage and interacted with particularly excited audience members. They blasted through Car Fiction, King of the Kerb, and Great Things in quick succession, the guitars sounding huge, the vocals on point. “We’re gonna have some fun aren’t we!” Sonya said, a prediction that would turn out to be accurate.
Harmonies between the members were excellent, especially on songs like Natural Animal. “Shall we have a waltz?” Sonya asked, inviting the crowd to dance with her for Something Hot in a Cold Country. “It is Electric Ballroom!” Excellent guitar solos and tight playing followed, with Four Letter Word and In the Year resonating with the onlookers. Just the guitar riff alone was enough, however, to get people cheering for Dark Therapy. The grungy licks and extended ending drew the most energy out of the crowd, reminding many of On’s later highlights.
Once the album was completed the group turned their attention to fan favourites. On Turn On, Atom, and Scream all retuned listeners to the grungier late 90s. An encore of Father, Ruler, King, Computer and I Can’t Imagine the World Without Me as well as a fond farewell ended the well deserved and brilliantly executed night perfectly. What a celebration!
Set List:
Car Fiction
King of the Kerb
Great Things
Natural Animal
Go Away
Pantyhose and Roses
Something Hot in a Cold Country
Four Letter Word
Nobody Like You
In the Year
Dark Therapy
Worms and Angels
Close…But
On Turn On
Aloha Lolita
Atom
Scream
Encore:
Father, Ruler, King, Computer
I Can’t Imagine the World Without Me
Writer and Musician, Ryan Bulbeck has been published with a number of online publications, and has worked with a myriad of great artists, both as a performer, and as a producer. His most recent band The 295 are still active, playing shows around the UK.
