Music
Hatchie. Photo by Lissyelle Laricchia.
A Motion Picture Experience: Hatchie + Caroline Loveglow at Songbyrd
May 11, 2022 @ 5:00pm
From gritty flannels to hard eyeliner that smudges with ease, it’s safe to say that the 2020’s is embracing its alt-rock renaissance.
But as much as harder acts like Soundgarden and Nirvana controlled the airwaves of alternative’s heyday, it seems like the sound that draws in Gen Z is a more ethereal kind of fuzziness.
Imagine your My Bloody Valentines, your Cocteau Twins and now the likes of Australian pop dreamer Hatchie.
Recently making waves as a May 4 headliner at Songbyrd, Hatchie’s performance honestly set the bar for what to expect from this new generation of intergalactic pop mavericks.
Utilizing a sporadically-colorful light show that rivals anything you’d see at Laser Floyd, Hatchie’s stage presence seamlessly transitions from floating and whimsical to firm-on-the-ground and direct.
One moment, it seems like she’s a miraged angel in some ’80s teen movie, standing guard as the girl-next-door confesses her love to the jock.
Other times, she plants both feet down on the stage, confidently picks up her bass and captains a pseudo-western tune that could soundtrack a “Fear and Loathing” styled drive through the desert.
It was unfathomable how one show made me feel like I was light as a feather and plummeting to earth’s core all in an hour’s time. There was no way of escaping this trippy sense of bodily awareness during her set.
And while Hatchie won my praise a million times over, props to her opener Caroline Loveglow are more than deserved.
With Loveglow’s set, the same fuzzy and space-age sounds I got from Hatchie were given a straight-forward and conscious stage presence.
While her stage banter was incredibly chill and jokingly played off of her guitarist LAYNE, Caroline’s total demeanor would take a total shift when she’d start a song.
From chill and humble, she transformed into this incredibly-confident vocalist who knew how good she sounded and used that self-acknowledgement to push herself even further.
It was so refreshing to see an artist play off their audience and reach great heights because of it.
From the angelic buzzing of Hatchie to the direct demeanor of Caroline Loveglow, I think it’s a clear given that this Songbyrd show will go down as one of the all-time favorites.
Be sure to listen to Hatchie’s latest album “Giving The World Away” and Caroline Loveglow’s debut “Strawberry.”
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