Wren should definitely be on your list of musicians to see live. Bringing maximum energy to the stage, combining incredible vocal range and her own looped harmonies, with a superb collective of musicians: Brett Steek (drums), Michalis Nikolaou (bass), Sarah Collins (keys) and new to the line up for this show, Duncan Andrews (guitar).
Opening the show with “Burn”, a goosebump moment as Wren‘s higher register vocals silence the crowd. The 120 capacity room at The Railway Inn, Winchester, UK, feels full with an engaged audience, and the heat is definitely rising.
Wren plays ten songs from her last four years’ of releases. She tells us she started off as a sweet musician with an acoustic guitar and seems to keep getting a bit badder each year. There’s definitely a resemblance to Billie Eilish in Wren‘s easy shifting between velvety vocals and grungy alt-pop electronic bass-filled songs. Wren is full of emotion as she plays “6ft”, a song written during a period of grief, “you never know what battles someone’s facing behind a brave face, therefore we should always choose kindness”; The song is at once sweet and angry as hell.
A technical difficulty with the backing track of a song allowed the briefest of pauses before Wren kept the energy going with an improvised freestyle song, showing off her vocals, with the band jamming along, it was a lovely treat. Favourites from the set were her latest release “Skin 2 Skin”, “Bad Decisions” single from 2018, and “Peroxide Medusa” from the same titled EP, which closed the show.
Wren‘s song releases are an expertly produced alt-pop mix of vocal harmonies, hyptonic bass lines and sweeping guitars, in an electronic-pop package. The band impressively convert this to a live show, which sounds just as good as the recordings, with the added bonus of Wren‘s stage presence, full of energy and emotion. Definitely one to watch.
There were three support acts, including Wyse, delivering a performance of fierce, guitar-driven alt-rock with raw, impassioned vocals.
Toreador provided plenty of energy, warming the crowd up nicely, with their big guitar sound, catchy rhythms and unexpected harmonies.
First support was Emilia Tarrant, showing her stunning vocals, performing solo at the keys. Emilia has performed at the Houses of Parliament, UK, and has had over half a million streams on her EP “Honeymoon Phase” among many other accolades, and its clear to see why from this beautiful performance.
Photos and words by Tony Palmer (@shot_by_tony).
Keep up with Wren by following their socials: Facebook /// Instagram /// Website /// TikTok
Keep up with Wyse by following their socials: Facebook /// Instagram /// Website
Keep up with Toreador by following their socials: Facebook /// Instagram /// Website
Keep up with Emilia Tarrant by following their socials: Facebook /// Instagram /// Website
