Little Boots at Rough Trade East

A large crowd of excited people gathered at Rough Trade East last night to celebrate Little Boots’ new album release. Electro pop singer Victoria Hesketh curried favour with the press five years ago with her debut Hands and is here with the burden to prove that she has created a valuable follow-up.

The showcase of Nocturnes started with a 15-minute delay due to sound issues, but this did not despair the public. Little Boots was full of energy and eager to do her best starting with the jumpy Motorway. But sound continued to be a problem, with the reverb effect that should have emphasized her voice failing to achieve its goals. This left a dull effect with the music and vocals failing to mix well together.

Nonetheless, next track Confusion proved that Little Boots can easily turn Rough Trade into a dance floor. Hesketh looked like a new century Debbie Harry, although her dance routine and theatrical gestures appeared spurious and unnatural at first. The moves seemed to be there to create a space between her and the audience, and even felt separated from the music.

With Beat Beat, a track with its roots in the late 70s disco style and Broken Records, which has the potential to be a festival anthem, Little Boots finally unleashed her potential demonstrating how the new album reveals a new side to her. Hesketh abandoned the mechanical dance, becoming appreciative of being on stage, capturing the good vibes from the cheering crowd and giving them back with sincerity.

Energising lines and the 80s electro pop tempo get you by the gut, with a tremendous feeling that does not leave you till the end. Little Boots showcased her best vocal abilities with sophisticated synth effects and a voice modulation machine, but the results were a slightly lost due to the constant technical problems. Sadly because of this, her voice was not as good as it should have been: often only the chorus was understandable and lyrics were lost in the high-pitched sound.

Little Boots admitted that “[Nocturnes] is a very personal album” and the gig finally started to reflect this with her performance of Crescendo; Hesketh danced less and appeared more delicate. Just like the new face of Little Boots, she wasn’t hiding anymore.

Carole Mendy

For further information and future events visit Little Boots’ website here.

Watch the video for Broken Record here: