Sigrid

Sigrid

Apr 02

HAPPINESS WON ME OVER

Where: Saint Luke’s
When: 22 March 2018
Support: Fred Well

Anointed the Sound of 2018 by the BBC there was a lot riding of the young Norwegian’s shoulders but she carried off tonight’s gig with panache and joy. And although the audience skewed towards late teens/young twenties there was actually a good age representation that suggests Sigrid’s fresh-faced pop will have legs.

GG felt a little sorry for Fred Well and his admirable band as his good, sophisticated pop with its welcome 80s echoes had to contend with a crowd whose mind was only half on his set, too excited by the anticipation of the headliner.

Sigrid is just the latest Scandinavian to show the Brits how to do pop – her electro influenced songs, with their direct, connecting lyrics are ready made for the radio and her bright breezy videos, with their winning lack of artifice, are easy to warm to. She is 21 years old but comes across as a few years younger, which is emphasised by her plain dressing, trademark blue jeans and a t-shirt, which helps break the barrier between her and her audience. She appears to be genuinely happy to be in Scotland for the first time and genuinely touched by the warm reception she gets throughout the set. She is still such a new artist, no album yet, that her setlist is short but also naturally includes all the songs she has yet released. ‘Don’t Kill My Vibe’ gets the biggest intro cheer and was delivered with her customary energy; ‘Strangers’ was also very good, perhaps GG’s favourite on the night. And the crowd loved the slower ‘Dynamite’, even singing the chorus back to her.

It was a great pop gig, with an innocence and freshness that GG has not come across in a while (perhaps not since seeing Hinds at Scala in London in 2015) and was hugely enjoyable. I’m really glad to have seen her at Saint Luke’s as next time she comes back to Glasgow she will almost certainly be playing in a much larger venue.

 

Band page

Sample video