Kid Wave couldn’t possibly have made a depressing, gloomy Sunday any less luminous. The shimmering backdrop of the Oslo beckoned for the dreamy harmonies woven on the band’s debut album, Wonderlust. I had been waiting to see Kid Wave in action for months and was excited to find out whether they could induce as much dreamy euphoria live as when laid in bed listening to the record.
Lead singer/ guitarist Lea Emmery leads the band onto the stage. She breezes on with confidence, championing a T-shirt with the slogan “The future is female”. I’m already mesmerized with her presence and this spectacle of grrrl power elevates her even higher. The fantastic All I Want catapults us into the depths of Kid Wave and the fact that it’s a cold Sunday is completely forgotten; in fact, it’s as if we’ve been cast off to a sunny festival, basking in the glorious summery melodies. Lea’s voice is even more layered in a live setting, and her long golden locks tumble about her face like a mermaid. The performance is dynamic and inclusive, and the band as a whole has great chemistry.
As the show carries on, the ambient lights add to the shoegazey chimera. Kid Wave are obviously in touch with their music and care about how the audience respond to it, with Lea beaming an infectious grin at the end of each song. During the brooding Baby Tiger, which was inspired by a dream Lea had about holding a little cub in her hands, the band dip into the dirge as the meticulous drums and soothing harmonies give us a momentary glimpse into the lyricist’s lotus land. The personal highlight of the show for me was Best Friend. With such a thoughtful sentiment and a blissed out performance, the song is hard not to fall in love with. Bassist Harry Deacon and drummer Serra Petale speak to the meaning of the song as Harry stalks over to the drum kit and the pair exchange smiles along to the beat. Lea gifts the crowd with a huge grin as she sings “You are my best friend, don’t wanna lose you” and I really can’t help but smile right back.
Everyone in the room is grateful to Kid Wave for sending us into a festival fantasy on this dreary February Sunday. The optic choruses and gravelly distortion mingle together in a whirlpool of grunge-haze and present the vast possibilities that guitar music still possesses. The quartet have successfully managed to bring the reverie of Wonderlust to life and prove to be completely capable of headlining as prestigious a show as the NME Awards Tour.
Words by Alicia Carpenter