Daughter;
Date: 16th + 27th January 2016
Date: 16th + 27th January 2016
Venue: O2 Academy, Oxford / O2 Forum Kentish Town, London
Setlist:
- How
- Alone/With You
- Doing The Right Thing
- Tomorrow
- Numbers
- No Care
- Amsterdam
- Human
- Smother
- Winter
- Home
- Youth
- New Ways
- Shallows
- Fossa
- Made Of Stone
(Release date: March 18th 2013) If You Leave Tracklist: Winter / Smother / Youth / Still / Lifeforms / Tomorrow / Human / Touch / Amsterdam / Shallows //
Released under: 4AD/Glassnote Records
Late 2015, I noticed that there
were tickets available for Daughter’s upcoming tour of their new album, Not To Disappear. I am lucky enough to
have seen them live before, in 2012, where they were supporting Beirut at the Hammersmith Apollo.
Although we hadn’t yet heard their new album, If You Leave (their debut) is definitely on my list of favourite
albums, and I didn’t want to miss the chance to see them live again. Overly
excited at the prospect of seeing them live once again, I quickly texted Jamie
to see if she would want to join me – with the London gig date sold out, and
the Berlin gig date in the middle of the week, we decided to take a little
weekend trip to Oxford to see them live at the O2 Academy located there. After
this decision, in a frenzied excitement, I franticly ordered the tickets. Now,
it was just for the waiting game until the weekend appeared, and I flew back from
Berlin and we could be able to go on our little Oxford adventure.
It was fitting, really, the way
that it worked out, with the date we chose and venue we ended up seeing them
live at; considering that the album was released the day prior to the night of
the gig, it meant that we got a little sneak preview of the album. Even though we didn’t know the album to the extent that we know their first release, If You Leave, we did get the see
what was different and what had changed since their first album. So, although
we didn’t get to listen to the album as much as I would have liked, the gig and
their set list was balanced out stunningly – just enough of their first album
and previous releases on their EPs and also a good amount of their new album,
allowing you to be able to experience it in the best way – live.
Daughter were supported by Pixx, the moniker of Hannah Rodgers, a
songwriter from Chipstead just south of London. Pixx played a similar style of
music to Daughter, making them a fitting opening and support act for the gig.
The track that stood out the most
for me was actually from their new album, Not
To Disappear, and is now un-coincidentally my favourite track of the album,
and that was Fossa. Fossa seems to be underrated in the
reviews that I have read of this album; it’s hardly ever mentioned. For me, it
is one of the standout tracks on the album, along with Mothers, No
Care, and Made Of Stone.
Fossa is stunning;
created with beautiful layers of her voice that overlap and creates different
textures and harmonies where it quickly changes the texture with a strong drum
beat driving the piece together just at the right moment; with faster paced
rhythms on the guitar, which is lead in with Tonra singing “I feel sick,” and then leading back into
the verse as it slows down for her voice lamenting, “I find I feel alone,” introducing more atmospheric sounds,
harmonies and layers of voices back into the piece. Where it is slowly concluded
with an instrumental coda consisting of guitar, drums and the sustained auras
of sounds that are littered throughout the track. For these reasons Fossa caught my attention
when they played it live, it was the final track played before the encore, and
was overwhelming to hear, the stunning moments on the recording were twice that
live making the piece even more intense and drawing you into the sound and into
your own world.
Made Of Stone brings the
album back to the sparser textures of their debut album, If You Leave, bringing a calmer atmosphere, soundscape and texture,
focusing more on the lyrical content and her voice. This initial texture is
accompanied by various guitar parts; an electric guitar that gives this
melancholic aura to the piece providing the second melody and an ambient
soundscape; and a strummed guitar part that adds a rawness to the texture that
is so very familiar to that of If You
Leave. This rawness gave a sense of familiarity to that of their first
album, and it was the perfect track to close the gig with.
I experienced this gig in a way I
haven’t experienced a gig before, the only other gig I could compare this to,
only slightly, is when I saw The Tallest
Man On Earth in Berlin at Huxley’s Neue Welt; when he played Where Do My Bluebird Fly, and it was by
far the most overwhelming part of the gig. Beyond that, it’s entirely difficult
to explain, I’ve always connected to music and linked music to memories,
sometimes much more so that others, and although I had no time to have any
memories linked to their new album, it connect with me straight away. Daughter have always had a great deal
of emotion in their tracks and a very melancholic soundscape, which carried
over to their newest release, however, this feels more open, an album that is
twice as relatable as their first album If
You Leave. From my first proper listen at the gig, I connected with it in a
way that is entirely different to any other album. And that is the only way I
can define how overwhelming it was; it was an unexplainable feeling that tied
all of my emotions and lingering thoughts together.
It has been
amazing to read how Daughter are in
this business for their music, the creative rights; I read a quote from an
interview where they called themselves selfish because of that, and I
completely disagree. Their presence on stage was comforting and compelling,
they were not arrogant or uninterested; Tonra presented herself as modest and
humble; (acting in a bashful way that reminded me of one of my best friends, and
I hope, that one day, they both realise the amazing talent that they possess)
surprised that we were still attending their gigs – but how could we not! This
attitude is something that adds to their music and the effect it has on their
audience – they make music for themselves, and no one else, and still manage to
create stunning works that connect with people on an unbelievable level and
especially at a first listen.
We sincerely recommend seeing them live, so if you have the
chance to go to their upcoming tour, go!
Upcoming Gigs:
Thursday 3rd March – Union Transfer, Philadephlia, PA, US
Friday 4th March – Somerville Theatre, Somerville, MA, US
Saturday 5th March – Corona Theatre, Montreal, QC, Canada
Monday 7th March – Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON, Canada
Tuesday 8th March - Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON, Canada
Wednesday 9th March - Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI, US
Friday 11th March - Metro Smart Bar, Chicago, IL, US
Saturday 12th March - First Avenue & 7th St Entry, Minneapolis, MN, US
Sunday 13th March - The Granada, Lawrence, KS, US
Tuesday 15th March - Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO, US
Wednesday 16th March - The Depot, Salt Lake City, UT, US
Friday 18th March - Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Saturday 19th March - The Showbox, Seattle, WA, US
Friday 4th March – Somerville Theatre, Somerville, MA, US
Saturday 5th March – Corona Theatre, Montreal, QC, Canada
Monday 7th March – Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON, Canada
Tuesday 8th March - Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON, Canada
Wednesday 9th March - Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI, US
Friday 11th March - Metro Smart Bar, Chicago, IL, US
Saturday 12th March - First Avenue & 7th St Entry, Minneapolis, MN, US
Sunday 13th March - The Granada, Lawrence, KS, US
Tuesday 15th March - Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO, US
Wednesday 16th March - The Depot, Salt Lake City, UT, US
Friday 18th March - Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Saturday 19th March - The Showbox, Seattle, WA, US
(March 20th – April 6th continues touring the US and Canada)
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