Two years on from their last visit, London-based, Wrexham-raised Art School Girlfriend returned to the Welsh capital on Friday in support of her recent third studio album 'Lean In'.
The move upstairs to the venue’s larger room felt telling. What once suited an intimate, almost hushed atmosphere now stretched comfortably into something broader, more assured, without losing the emotional core that defines Polly Mackey’s project.
There was a certain symmetry to the evening. Downstairs, a metal show rattled the foundations, all distortion and volume, while upstairs the crowd gathered in anticipation of something more inward-looking. Mackey acknowledged the contrast with some dry humour, joking that L.Y.A.T.T. might give the band below a run for their money.
When it arrived later in the set, its pulsing, techno-leaning electronics briefly blurred that divide, a reminder that Art School Girlfriend has always been about texture and physicality on a grand scale.
Opening with The Peaks, the set established a tone that was both controlled and immersive. The sound was remarkably clear, each layer given space to breathe, allowing tracks like Diving and Down The Line to unfold seamlessly.
There was no rush. Instead, the music drifted and built, often feeling almost ethereal as synth lines hovered just above the surface before dissolving back into the mix.
Mid-set highlights came in the form of A Place to Lie and Waves, both of which leaned into the project’s more expansive tendencies. The latter especially benefited from the upgraded space, its slow swell filling the room in each and every corner. Save Something and Doing Laps continued that trajectory, balancing fragility with a subtle sense of propulsion.
By the time Heaven Hanging Low arrived, the set had settled into a hypnotic rhythm. It was a testament to the control Mackey now exerted over both sound and space. Elsewhere, during Is It Light Where You Are, a projected backdrop of fan-submitted photographs appeared, each taken at the same hour across different parts of the world, quietly reinforcing the track’s sense of distance and connection.
The closing stretch, Out There into Hope More, Hopeless, brought things back down without losing intensity. There was a sense of resolution, but not closure. Noting she didn’t do encores due to the awkwardness they brought, it reinforced the feeling that this was a set that didn’t need to prove anything, because it already had. Art School Girlfriend commanded the space with quiet authority, crafting a live experience that was immersive, textured, and increasingly hard to look away from.
*****
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