Live Review
Kyla La Grange + April Towers
Thekla, Bristol
October 30 2014
Words/Photos: Pollyanna Sheehan
Playing her last UK date of the present tour before she heads off to Europe, the husky, ethereal voiced Kyla La Grange stops off at Bristol's Thekla to reward fans with an impressive show.
Opening the night are Nottingham duo April Towers who combine intense electronic sounds with captivating pop melodies. Displaying enthusiasm and energy, they succeed in exciting the crowd and warming up the room as they showcase their range of material, including latest single ‘Arcadia’. This infectious electronic pop track which marks the first official release from the pair, drew in a positive response, and the songs that followed simply confirmed the high level of talent and creativity possessed by these two.
With the incredible vocal range of singer Alex Noble and the technical abilities of Charlie Burley, they surely prove a winning combination. An overall upbeat and engaging set. The members of the crowd that arrived towards the end sincerely missed out on an incredible performance by April Towers, who will be playing a hometown headline show at The Bodega this Thursday - attendance recommended.
After a short interval, the lights dimm and a reworked version of SNAP!’s ‘Rhythm is a Dancer’ blares from the speakers signaling the entrance of Kyla La Grange onto a beautifully decorated stage bedecked with vivid flower garlands and fairy lights, creating an even more intimate feel for the small venue. Accompanied by a four-piece band, the set opened with ‘Fly’, taken from her second album ‘Cut Your Teeth’ that was released earlier this year. This track features the heavy electronic influences that contrast with her pop-based debut ‘Ashes’. Throughout the evening the band produced the incredible electronic backing sounds, which was both entrancing to watch as to hear.
During ‘I Don’t Hate You’, ‘The Knife’ and ‘White Doves’, the crowd could be heard singing along with Kyla and cheering enthusiastically; each individual song was well-placed, and each a standout on its own merit. Combining both old and newer material, Kyla encompassed and entwined many different elements from the spectrum of genres from rock to intense alternative-electro that she seems to span with consummate ease.
The last two numbers of the set, ‘Cut Your Teeth’ and ‘Cannibals’ - both from her latest album - employed use of her full band. The rendition of ‘Cut Your Teeth’ started as the original, but incorporated aspects of the immensely popular Kygo remix, which features more electronic layers and increased the tempo. This couldn’t have worked better, with the entire crowd dancing and cheering. Following what was announced as her final song, the crowd refused to move, knowing that there was surely something more to come, and they were right not to move. An encore of a stripped back version of ‘Vampire Smile’ followed, which saw Kyla return to the stage with just an acoustic guitar to show off, one last time, her astoundingly powerful and haunting vocal. A flawless performance.
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