Live Review: Kira Puru, Sparrows, DVNA

Kira Puru’s highly anticipated Fly tour kicks off in Brisbane at the cosy Blackbear Lodge. The night boasts a killer line-up of formidable ladies and promises to bring the femme power vibes.

First up is Gold Coast local DVNA. Entirely undeterred by the very small crowd, she works the spotlight with confidence and style. Her silky vocals and the clean production of her backing tracks combine to create a chilled, electronic, R&B sound that is uniquely her own. She performs a variety of released and unreleased tracks, including her hit single Girl On The Move. Her voice has the butter-smooth tone of Norah Jones, a quality that is beautifully portrayed in a mash-up cover of Frank Ocean’s Nikes and Amy Shark’s Adore. With a stage presence that exudes cool confidence, DVNA is a girl on the move, and certainly one to keep an eye on.

Following this impressive performance, Sparrows takes the stage and launches straight into some original tracks that she admits are ‘"straight out of the bedroom". Her set is punctuated by layered vocals, punchy bass lines and funky, brooding backing tracks. Despite a tentative start, by the middle of her set the Sydney-based artist has found her groove and is dancing along with the front row.

With the girl power mood well and truly established, Kira Puru strode onto the stage after a short break and launched straight into the closing track off her new self-titled EP, Alone. Her gutsy vocals marry seamlessly with the groovy pop beats, resulting in an absolute tune that you can’t not dance to. Puru’s stage presence is demanding, she is a woman who knows who she is and doesn’t have time for those who don’t like it. She is crass, funny as hell and just having a good old time. She introduces crowd favourite Say Something as a song about "never seeing your ex again cause he’s a fucking piece of shit - or something", followed by the tour’s title track Fly as a song about blowjobs. Her banter between songs showcases her mischievous personality, which characterises the new EP. She debuts a new tune titled Revenge, another certified bop. This track is the ultimate soundtrack for a messy break-up and the crowd are absolutely digging it. As the end of the night draws closer Puru sums it up pretty perfectly, "Well what a weird, lovely time this has been, but that’s what you all came for." To close the show she delivers an explosive performance of pop banger Molotov and finally her Like A Version cover of Katy Perry’s Last Friday Night (TGIF).

Puru’s infectious personality comes together with her impressive pipes and groovy beats to create the perfect pop/gothic disco queen the world didn’t know it needed. The past year has seen her really make her mark on the Australian music scene and with the release of her EP, there is no doubt she’ll only get bigger from here.