Live Review: Sea Girls + Oliver Keane - SWX Bristol, 18/03/2024

With Sea Girls set to take to the stage for the sold out 6th night of their UK tour, already craving an escape to the drudgery of a Monday, Bristol's SWX was packed out in anticipation. Luckily fans didn't have to wait too long for Derby born, now London-based artist Oliver Keane to get things warmed up.

Wasting no time in the deliverance of his pop perfected hits, the rising star showcased a widening catalogue of tracks depicting love, loss and self-reflection. Despite losing his voice after an intense few days on the road, Keane made testament to his pop prowess with punchy basslines and catchy choruses that gripped the crowd. From Miss You's towering guitars and heart-on-sleeve lyricism to 3.5's poignant melodies and even a cover of Outkast's Hey Ya thrown in for good measure, it was clear his well polished sound far exceeded expectations as the crowd jubilantly cheered back. 

On record his music's already picking up traction, but live it's an entirely different beast as the track's transcended with even more force in to a crowd eager for more. Take note of the name as he gears up for future releases, it's one I'm confident you'll be hearing a lot more from. 

With the audience more than amped following Oliver Keane's performance, Sea Girls promptly arrived at 9pm to undertake business. In the line of delivering euphoric indie rock, with stadium ready choruses, the band did what they do best and kicked things off with Transplant and recent single Weekends and Workdays.

This a band clearly on top of their game and as the chants of "Sea Girls" echoed in from the crowd, singer Henry Camamile lapped up the adoration, eager for more. Spurring him on, the band dived head first straight in to their energetic back catalogue including hits such as Young Strangers and Ready For More. All expertly performed as mosh pits soon began to build in excitement.

Dazzled by the stage production which added another layer of excitement to the performance, with vibrant lights and visuals perfectly complementing the band's dynamic sound, the atmosphere crackled with electricity. So much so Do You Really Wanna Know? had to be stopped after the drum kit microphones broke causing a sound malfunction. All taken in their stride though. 

From demonstrating new songs from their upcoming album Midnight Butterflies, to classic hits, the band poured their hearts and souls into every chord, leaving the audience enraptured until the final notes faded into the night.

Ending with a double encore featuring I Want You to Know Me and All I Want to Hear You Say, Sea Girls had delivered a performance for the ages, proving once again why they're one of the most exciting bands on the scene today.

With plenty more up their sleeves with a new LP on the horizon, 2024 looks set to be their most impressive yet. 

*****