Chvrches/Emilie Nicolas

Somerset House, London - 17 July 2014

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"A magnificent performance - and no ugly knees"

One of the hottest evenings in July finds me in the splendour of Somerset House to see Chvrches perform; it’s a glorious setting and a breeze made it very pleasant evening. The support act was Emilie Nicolas, who I believe is from Norway, and she was backed up by two musicians, predominantly playing keyboards. The music was less danceable than Chvrches, but Emilie had a superb singing voice and I did wonder how the headliners were going to top her performance. I have to say Emilie was far better than many support acts I have seen in the past and finished off her set by playing Grown Up (her next single due for release in 2015) which along with PStereo can be found on her SoundCloud page, and I would strongly recommend you give them a listen. 


Chvrches photos L-R: Iain Cook, Lauren Mayberry, Chvrches, Martin Doherty

Chvrches followed and played an hour long set, which consisted of most the tracks from their Top 10 (and so far only) album The Bones Of What You Believe. I need not have worried about the support act upstaging them as this Scottish electronic three-piece gave a magnificent performance, and the quality of the sound and Lauren’s vocals, hit the spot perfectly. Also Lauren was in good humour, making several jokes, both about her not getting her 'ugly knees' out even in the heat and also about a ticket tout outside trying to sell her a ticket for tonight's performance! All in all a fun, enjoyable and great sounding performance 8/10

Review + Photos: Mark Smith

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