CityLife

Ida Maria

NORWEGIAN songstress Ida Maria was last seen on these shores supporting Indie darlings The Courteeners.

Tonight it is clear that she has gained a solid base of fans since then.

Sounding like a Scandinavian Cerys Matthews, her gravelly, roaring voice is a unique and powerful weapon.

Opening act Birdpen were fairly nondescript, and their intense electro drone was startlingly out of place on tonight’s bill.

Second up were the soulful delights of VV Brown. This talented young lady made quite the impression and is surely destined for big things.

Her music is a mix of danceable '60s-style swing numbers, and slow Winehouse-esque blues.

With a strong voice and attitude in abundance, it is clearly not going to be long until VV is headlining venues like this herself.

Tonight’s main event, Ida Maria, has become renowned for her unhinged and wild onstage antics.

Tonight she keeps it relatively calm, but still packs plenty of feisty female energy whilst simultaneously endearing herself to the audience with her charming onstage banter.

Looking every bit the rock star, one thing Ida certainly does not lack is confidence.

So that’s the image and the demeanour covered, now onto the music. Ida has an undeniably powerful voice; she rasps and yelps her way through the set, every bit the equal of the aforementioned Ms Matthews or even at times the legendary Bjork. Songs such as ‘Oh My God’ and ‘Queen Of The World’ allow her to display her talent well, but unfortunately, the rest of her set is fairly forgettable.

Flitting from soft Indie-pop one track to bluesy garage rock the next, Ida is competent enough at both, but a master of neither.

Hit single ‘I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked’ is saved inevitably until last.

This short blast of raw guitars and effortlessly catchy lyrics is the strongest point of Ida’s set and also clearly the one song most people in the crowd knew.

It’s too early to write her off as a one-hit-wonder just yet, but Ida needs a few more tunes like this in order to catapult herself into the big leagues.

She has the voice and the image down to a tee; it’s just the music that needs a bit of work.

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