Gig Review: Kate Bollinger @ The Louisiana

Bollinger's shoegazey records were stripped back to their roots in an intimate acoutsic set at Bristol's Louisiana

Oscar Ross Music Editor

Asmall herd of Carhartt and corduroy-clad indie-pop fans found some warmth at Louisiana on a January Sunday to hear indie up-and-comer Kate Bollinger’s set.

To those who don’t yet know, talented singer-songwriter Kate Bollinger’s discography is filled with sun-washed, dreamy indie pop with her latest album Look at it in the Light being a standout release, at least for me. The project is back-to-back plucky yet melancholic songwriting, laced with this addictive mix of warbling, stereo-bouncing guitars, distorted keys, and ethereal vocals.

This is all underpinned by beautifully full-bodied drums with just the right amount of grit, cutting right through the arrangement to make your head bop. I absolutely recommend this album, as well as Bollinger’s recent single ’Running’ and her amazing appearance on 70s musical time traveller Drugdealer’s latest project: Hiding in Plain Sight.

Opening her set with one of her album’s standout tracks ‘Lady in the Darkest Hour’, Bollinger already had the crowd shouting as she took the stage on a solitary rickety barstool.

Bollinger’s vocals were lightly sung, throwing an intimate, silent blanket over Louisiana’s small venue space. The crowd seemed to either lean forward to hear more or lean back into the relaxing acoustic set. Dressed in a pu y pink dress, live band member Tani who goes by Legwurk, opened with a short set, radiating Still Woozy energy and setting the tone for the rest of the evening.

The crowd was treated to three unreleased tracks, all falling under Bollinger’s whimsical songwriting style. The singer told the audience little about these new songs, except one: ‘Boys in my Head’, which she described as “about going to California”. Chatting to Bollinger at the merch stand after the show, I learned she had recently moved to L.A having been shown around a bit by California based artist Drugdealer while they were working on their absolutely awesome collab track ‘Pictures of You’.

Bollinger was also handing out some neat little Look at it in the Light matchbooks so, yes I bought a T-shirt. I’m a sucker for merch and am wildly irresponsible with my money when it comes to music, so now I have yet another white tee with another cool artist’s name on it. Money well spent in my opinion.

The singer-songwiriter also played her latest cover of Jaques Dutronc’s ‘Jaime les filles’,. “I’ve never tired this without a band” nervously laughed Bollinger, “And I don’t want the first time I try it to be in France so I’m gonna try it out”, which was followed by peels of lighthearted British, naturally Francophobic laughter.

As the stripped-back acoustic set went on I began to realise something about Bollinger’s songs which I hadn’t considered as I listened to her tracks. The secret to Bollinger’s tracks is the intimacy and ease they have. This is