Liverpool’s Her’s embark on their first ever US headline tour with a sold-out first date at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn.
Her’s
The streets have been drenched with an onslaught of steady, spitting rain that had been falling all evening, but the warmth of Baby’s All Right in Williamsburg wraps the crowd in a steamy embrace away from the cold outside. It’s a sold out gig, and it shows, with people packed in all the way from the stage to the back walls.
The first step indoors is graced with the lo-fi “void” pop of NYC locals Field Trip, the project born of Noah Davies after the transplant moved here from Los Angeles. It’s always impressive to see a singing drummer, and Davies wasn’t any different. Drawing from both psych influences and post-punk revivals, Field Trip offer a dynamic trip through time and space with their entrancing and captivating tunes.
With the release of their official first album, Invitation to Her’s, Liverpool-based duo Her’s suddenly seemed to come alive under the pressures of being both pioneering in their sound, and yet still being reminiscent of some of the greatest groovy tunes of past decades. The mighty range of guitarist/vocalist Stephen Fitzpatrick offers a warbling baritone and a sparkling alto, offering hypnotic, melodic storytelling capabilities. Meanwhile Auden Laading, all the while boogey-ing across the stage with a blissful grin that only proves he’s having the most fun out of all of us, cuts through with a range of masterful basslines.
The opener for the night is the appropriate “Marcel,” a slow romp through doo-wop, gauze-coated heaven, and one of the oft-dubbed “woozier” Demarco-esque moments from their mini-album, Songs of Her’s. Not wasting a moment, however, they dive straight into belter “Mannie’s Smile,” inspiring a sudden heave from the audience, who could no longer contain the desire to bop along to the infectious harmonies that Her’s have become so well-loved for. “If you want to jig your butt up and down on someone, this is your chance,” is a highly-appropriate encouragement from them before delving into their most popular (according to Spotify, at least) “Cool With You,” and then the eighties-reminiscent “Love on the Line (Call Now).”
By far the most enthusiastic reaction is to the objectively-greatest song from Songs of Her’s, “Dorothy,” which featuring a bounding earworm of a bassline rolling in glittering guitar, evoking memories of all your favorite bands from the eighties that Her’s seem to achieve so well, before melting into the silky, funky crescendo that is “Harvey,” pushing even more warmth into the bouncing crowd. The encore slows down an electric crowd with the more tender harmonies of “Under Wraps,” and then only hypes us back up with the beachy vibes of “Speed Racer.”
While this first US tour may have only put them on our map for four dates on the east and west coasts, the utter popularity and talent of Her’s are bringing them back for a much more extended time this coming spring around their appearances at SXSW ’19, including treks up the PNW and even into good old Canada. No fear, those who couldn’t catch them on their speedy visit this time – the duo will return.