Long time LOUD WOMEN faves, indie-rock London trio BERRIES electrified Signature Brew in Haggerston, alongside CHROMA for a special International Women’s Day ‘To The Front’ show on Friday. Labelled as bands with bright futures and big anthems, it lived up to its name.
Welsh wonders and LOUD WOMEN Fest alumnus, CHROMA opened their set with the blistering ‘Don’t Wanna Go Out’ from their debut album ‘Ask for Angela’
The Pontypridd bilingual alt-rock trio followed up with ‘Girls Talk’, with clear shades of Royal Blood and Gossip. Singer, Katie Hall commanded the stage with her fierce vocals, whilst Zach Mather on drums and Liam Bevan on modified custom bass provided the energetic sonic palate and wall of sound, so much so you don’t notice the absence of guitar.
Other highlights included ‘Woman to Woman’, a battle anthem showcasing their solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, with its angry riffs and Katie’s seething vocals. You can see why they supported the Foo Fighters at Old Trafford.
Another banger from the set was the slow-building swagger of ‘Over the Hill’ displaying the hopelessness of modern society, in which Katie achingly sings,
I’ve got big plans to go nowhere, and try to figure it out
They closed their triumphant set with recent bone-crushing single ‘I Wanna Be Where You Are’ about the joys of obsession.
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BERRIES kicked off with high energy opener and first single from their eponymous sophomore album released by Xtra Mile Recordings, in October 2024 ‘Watching Wax’. Driven by Holly Carter’s incessant guitar and melodic vocals and using a metaphor of a melting candle to describe the beauty of unpredictability,
Watching wax as years will follow, brightening as it burrows, rising like a willow.
The trio completed by bassist Lauren Cooper, and drummer Lexi Clark drums, then launched into the anthemic ‘We are Machines’ a crowd favourite from their debut album ‘How We Function’ which showcases a band who are unafraid to talk about mental health struggles and finding hope despite society’s ills.
Next up, ‘Jagged Routine’ an ode to the beauty of unpredictability, helped along by screaming guitar riffs, driving bass and thumping drums, highlighted the frustration of being continually forced into routines.
Aside from the powerful songs, the onstage banter between the band and audience was on fire, including a ‘Happy Birthday’ singalong to long-time fans Kat and Sally, before playing the riff-tastic ‘Sirens’ from their 2016 EP.
Holly introduced ‘Narrow Tracks’, as the first song they ever wrote about OCD and how freeing it was to finally write about something that affects her life. It’s power pop chords, jagged guitar and tribal beats along with anthemic chorus had the venue jumping!
There was even a sojourn into Shania Twain territory with Lauren’s a cappella version of ‘Man I Feel Like a Woman’, which also had the crowd singing along!
Other notable mentions include ‘Blurry Shapes’, ‘This Space’, ‘Barricade’ and ‘Wall of Noise’, where the influences of Nova Twins and Subways shone through.
They closed their set with the hypnotic ‘Spiral’ and ‘Control’, with it’s muted power chords and defiant vocals.
All in all – very much a band on the way to bigger things and bigger stages, where their exciting brand of genre-bending music deserves to be.
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