HOUSE OF WOMEN: LONDON’S LATEST ROCK FOUR PIECE CAST A HAUNTING NEW SPELL
LIVE REVIEW by Heather Collier
Forged in the fires of London’s underground music scene, House of Women rises from the
ashes as the capital’s latest haunting psychedelic four-piece. Formed at a music college in
East London, the band is composed of tight-knit friends Kyla Lanai (vocals and keys), Poppy
Miller (guitar), Fay Thorburn (bass) and Elsa Malazogu (guitar). Not for the faint hearted, the
group are slowly shaping up to be one of the UK’s next rising alt-rock hopefuls.
Despite the slim discography, House of Women are no stranger when it comes to performing
live, having won over audiences at Third Man Records, 2000trees festival, along with an
electrifying opening set on the Main Stage at All Points East. Since then, they have released
their six track debut EP People Printing and are now in demand more than ever before.
Garnering a significant amount of buzz this past year, they also broke the record for most
show sign-ups at Dalston’s infamous Shacklewell Arms, as well as receiving generous
airplay on BBC Radio 1.
The band’s blistering headline show at The George Tavern earlier this month served as a
release gig for their mesmerising new single, ‘Overgrown’, a testament to their ability to tap
into 90s nostalgia. ‘Overgrown’ is the workings of a Plath poem; a sprawling forest
whispering to you to fall victim to its underbrush, with an equally eerie music video to match.
The track was lovingly written by the quartet and produced by Shuta Shinoda, known for his
work on Mercury Prize-nominated albums from artists Ghostpoet and Anna Meredith.
As the lights begin to dim, the audience are immediately caught in the jaws of ‘Elsa’s
Lullaby’, which seamlessly transitions into other foreboding, shoegaze-tinged tracks such as
‘Hysterical’, ‘Hypocrite’, and ‘Few Too Many Times’, each one a haunting lament of love lost,
or a prickly promise of revenge.
The group oscillates between slower, softer pieces that unexpectedly explode with a
vengeance, making you feel as if you’re being pulled in and out of a trance, drawing us
deeper into their dark embrace. Kyla’s vocals soar with the power of a siren’s call, while
Poppy’s gaze pierces right through you, her fingers effortlessly dancing over the frets, letting
each velvet note linger like a ghostly apparition.
Weaving their own unique sonic tapestry, House of Women’s sound harks back to your
favourite cult vampire films, with several nods to the likes of Mazzy Star, PJ Harvey, Jeff
Buckley, and Death in Vegas, inviting us to decode each layer as the night goes on.
As the show draws to a close, each member’s shadow is cast across the stage behind them,
the lights briefly puppeteering their flushed faces into view, only for them to vanish once
again, their silhouette veiled beneath a blood-red haze. Unlike a deck of cards, this is a
foundation that isn’t going to collapse any time soon.
For those wanting a taste, you can catch House of Women live on June 1st at Southampton’s Heartbreakers.
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