Live Review: Lisa Mitchell, Buoy

Buoy entrances us with ethereal, ambient pop creation. The artist behind the production is Charmaine Kingston, who fittingly used to play piano in Lisa Mitchell’s band. We get lost in the whirlwind of her shuddering beats, electronic loops and sweeping atmospheric waves on tracks including Exit and Clouds & Rain.

The sound of haunting whispers travel out through the speakers and serve as an introduction before Lisa Mitchell and her band take their position on the stage. With a headset microphone tightly secured, she’s able to freely move around the stage in whichever direction the music compels her. It’s almost as if she is under a spell as she fixates her eyes on her smooth flowing hand movements during an interpretive dance to her latest single, The Boys.

It’s a special show for Mitchell having just released her brand new, third studio album Warriors today. It’s clear that most of the front row of the audience has had it on repeat all day as they sing all the words back to her. It seems that the back of the room would rather talk amongst themselves, which has many questioning why they are here at all. Another new song Warhol follows, with a beautiful blend of dreamy acoustic and electronic elements with a warm melody.

Some new arrangements of old favourites including Coin Laundry and Stevie are also thrown into the set amongst the new music. Mitchell has the ability to draw listeners into her creative world of personal and emotional storytelling. Her new material still has this great quality with vulnerable and reflective lyrics, but with a more modern soundscape. So Wild is the most noticeably different track, and a stand out of her live performance. The mysterious track leads us down a darker path with fierce drumming and a haunting undertone. 

The band leaves Mitchell for a moment as she returns back to her acoustic folk roots with a stripped back solo performance of What Is Love. The intimate and nostalgic tune showcases her light and airy vocals that linger over each charming guitar string squeak. Kingston is invited to share her sweet harmonious vocals for another heartwarming tune named after a girl called Josephine.

The band returns and they raise the energy levels for the uplifting Spiritus and mesmerising Oh! Hark! featuring an unexpected electric guitar solo thrown in to mix things up a bit. Before we know it the last song is upon us and rowdy members of the audience begin to shout out song requests. Clean White Love is the chosen song that satisfies many fans as we join in unison to sing out plenty of “A-woah ah-oh’s”.