Lissie at the Union Chapel

Lissie
Union Chapel, 30 June 2014

Hey, look! I accidentally took a kinda cool photo! Anyway, on with the show...

I'm not sure if Lissie is a blues singer disguised as a pop star or a rocker who is really a country crooner, maybe all of the above but one thing's for sure she has one hell of a voice. I don't know if her recorded work even really captures this fact but live it is something to behold. It's true too that she sounds a little like Stevie Nicks, although that's not the reason why I like her. On stage she looks like a female Bruce Springsteen, all white t-shirts and jeans and tanned skin, very American, but it's clear she isn't trying to be anybody except herself. Look at her recent release, an EP called Cryin' To You that features covers of artists as diverse as Danzig, One Direction, Drake and Bob Dylan, yet every one sounds uniquely her.

The Pierces at Koko

The Pierces
The Half Earth
Koko, 11 June 2014

I was thinking earlier that The Pierces are like the 30-something, Radio Two version of First Aid Kit, or even Haim given the more pop sound of their latest singles: beautiful sisters who obviously grew up listening to Fleetwood Mac and have those melting harmonies that only siblings have. Judging by the slightly older audience here tonight I feel I'm not that far off in my observation although The Pierces definitely have something of their own that makes them uniquely them.