Heaven, London
“I don’t know what I've been told, I’ll keep fighting till I lose.”
Genesis Owusu is a born thriver and survivor. As evidenced tonight, the Australian-Ghanaian singer finds himself a long way from home yet thriving in the apocalyptic atmospherics offered by his latest LP, Struggler.
From the punk-infected opener ‘Leaving the Light’ to the self-reclaiming ‘Struggler’, Owusu declares his infectious optimism in the face of adversity (“What a beautiful mistake”) even with the fatalist recognition of life’s tribulations (“There’s an old man waiting in the sky just to fuck my life up”). Amidst to his newly-assembled alt-rock aura, Owusu revels in his fatalistic beliefs, ultimately caressing the crowd into submission: a concession of, in spite of everything fought for, going to hell within the intimately soulful ‘See Ya There’.
Journeying through this, Owusu remains clad in all-black leather attire, contrasting against the crucible of lighting at the stage’s backdrop, which accentuates our afflicted yet deified leader guiding us through the darkness. For this artist clearly prides himself on inviting most everyone along this journey: an invitation which extends back to the release of his breakout debut in 2021, Smiling With No Teeth. Owusu's conglomeration of sounds and influences stretch and pull throughout, ringing the reigns of hip-hop and R&B, post-punk and mid-00’s alternative rock (the latter of which making a popular comeback), careening at his intrepid will for an eclectic audience.
Invariably, the result leaves many second-guessing at each turn. Ultimately, we remain entranced throughout tonight's smorgasbord of reminiscent sounds: the nasally-rapping style of Baby Keem, the R&B-inflected intimacy of Al Green, the baritone singing of King Krule or alt-rock nostalgia of Bloc Party; one could never fault this artist’s nouse for welcoming one and all to the survivalist party. Owusu defiantly rallies us through to the bitter end, orchestrating an a capella version of ‘Don’t Need You’, incessant hand-waving in ‘A Song About Fishing’ and lung-busting chants surging within ‘Stay Blessed’ and ‘The Roach’.
Genesis Owusu has ultimately proclaimed one of London’s leading safe and celebratory spaces, situating himself as leader, guider of us all. Whilst the wheels of this forthright campaign fell off slightly within the slower-paced tracks of old, Owusu invariably captured the burgeoning revival of our once-bright alternative rock space in the U.K., marking an uncanny resemblance and success to his battle-hardened contemporaries of Young Fathers, King Krule, and Yves Tumor. Sans backing instrumentals, dancers or on-stage entourage, Owusu remained beholden to his solo efforts - ultimately triumphing with one resolutely clenched fist and a book's worth of impermeable mantras.
7.5/10
Genesis Owusu's latest LP, Struggler, is out now via Ourness and can be found below.
Photo is courtesy of Virginie Viché whose work can be found here.