Carly Rae Jepsen at Somerset House, London
“Are you ready to run away with me tonight?”
During the height of Central London’s unrelenting summer heatwave, many of us were, needless to say, more than ready to elope with the Canadian pop sensation to another pop-laden ether. Yet in today’s day of true splendour within this highly sensational genre, seldom can a shortcut here or there be made without notice - something which struck this performance even under the guise of Somerset House’s Summer Series tagline. As Jepsen rang through the decade-long repertoire of modern pop bangers ‘I Really Like you’, ‘Julien’, ‘Cut to the Feeling’, the entire lack of chemistry between her and the on-stage entourage as well as the smooth rhythmics of the tracks seemed palpable, awkward at points and unconvincing elsewhere. While her legacy within the popsphere will always remain unabated, the underwhelming nature of her performance, along with the abrupt nature to her set’s conclusion left a tangibly defeated sigh from the audience as our journey back to the city came all too soon.
6/10
Silvana Estrada at St Pancras Old Church, London
"I really love first times."
This remark from the young Mexican singer-songwriter, may well have been uttered by the artist herself or even the small microcosm of Spanish-speakers as they departed from what proved a spellbinding and transcendental experience. For this was the first time, Silvana Estrada had arrived in Europe and, more specifically, the U.K. eliciting an intense following after the release of her elusive debut LP, Marchita, at the beginning of this year. Packed into the latter of two sold-out shows within the crucible of St. Pancras’ Old Church on a warm summer’s night did Estrada admit her infatuation for first times, particularly within a new city such as this. Fluttering effortlessly from such poetically-gifted tracks such as ‘Mas o Menos Antes’ and ‘Tristeza’, the solo songwriter and multi-instrumentalist imparted the stoic effects of a collective vocal harmonising of ‘Te Guardo’. Whilst this may have been Estrada’s first time collectivising this enclave, she seemed to revel in this exercise - a true testament to her unbridled connection with her audience bound by introspective lyrics, humorous inter-track chatter, and spell-binding authorship.
Few artists have an intangible prowess between their music and audiences on their first arrival in unchartered territory, yet, when this was realised, we felt it within the moment and left the scene changed - caught within a trance of Estrada’s artistry.
9/10
Photos are courtesy of Burak Cingi and Citlali Fabián whose work can be found at their respective links.
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