LIVE REVIEW: Fickle Friends + Swimming Girls + The Islas at Waterfront Studio

With palm trees on stage, a combination of the synth pop sounds ready to ring out and the neon lights illuminating the stage, Fickle Friends were finally in town at the Waterfront Studios for their rescheduled show. Originally called off due to illness, Fickle Friends made the trip back to round off their debut album tour You Are Someone Else.

The Islas

The first support act to take to the stage was Norwich’s very own The Islas, who brought their upbeat rhythms and delicate melodies to kick start the evening’s events with a decent crowd turning out for them.

It’s clear to see that they have great chemistry together as they showed they where loving it on stage and song by song they caught the audience’s attention with their experimental guitar sounds. Lead singer Nathan Baverstock’s stage presence caught the eye as he showed his comfort on stage, with each song from their set coming with ease that echoed throughout the studios.

Swimming Girls

The second support came in the form of alt-pop four piece, Swimming Girls, who brought new wave synths and haim-esque sounds to the stage.

A surprise support act for the evening’s events, the Bristol based four piece made for a good lead in for the headliners with their individual sound that goes between dwelling in the dark and brooding sounds with the warmth and nostalgia of 80’s and 90’s pop to inspirations from a variety of sources like Cyndi Lauper and vocal inspiration coming from the likes of The Cranberries.

A band that I can say plenty of the audience will be checking out after the gig, developing their live performances naturally, their song ‘Taste Like Money’ was a particular high point that went down very well to the almost sold out venue!

Fickle Friends

After a strangely longer than usual layover after the Swimming Girls set, it was time for the headliners of the evening. As the lights dimmed, Fickle Friends came on stage to get straight down to business.

The night showcased everything this five piece act has to offer from lead singer Natti Shiner’s witty personality and the band’s collection of steamy basslines, classic synths and with the stage decked out with palm trees for the vibrant show.

The subject of the cancelled show was brought up by Shiner apologising for having to postpone and interacting with the crowd asking if anybody went to Epic Studios with some people replying ‘yes’; this got plenty of laughs from the crowd as Shiner went on to  quickly reminisce about the group’s last visit to The Waterfront Studios.

Formed in 2013, the band showcased that they have plenty of songs in their repertoire  from many of their debut album songs, hitting it off with the crowd to older tracks like ‘Swim’ and ‘Play’ getting strong reactions with the crowd, with many singing along throughout.

Once in full flow the band were strutting and bouncing all over the stage which symbolized the joy and appreciation that this band have when they are on performing and enjoying every moment with their eagerness to engage with their fans with genuine warmth coming from each member.