For someone who hadn’t been to a Louisa Allen, or Foxes, concert, or even been a big Foxes fan previously, the Southampton born star’s night at Rescue Rooms was more than enough to convert me, and I’m sure quite a few others, to her self-described “experimental pop” sound. Supported by the 21 year old soul singer Izzy Bizu, the gig was part of a U.K. tour to promote her upcoming album, All I Need, scheduled for release in February 2016. The setlist itself revolved mainly around tracks from her upcoming album as well as a medley of tunes from her debut album Glorious, and a special cover of one of Ed Sheeran’s better tracks.
Before diving into the highs of Foxes’ night at Rescue Rooms, special mention must be given to her supporting act whose entrancing soulful voice captivated the entire venue. With tracks such as ‘Diamonds’ and ‘White Tiger’, she really is an up and coming artist that should be paid attention to. Izzy Bizu’s jazz-flavoured set acted as a great counterbalance to Foxes’ setlist which was also incredible. It must be mentioned that in comparison to Foxes, you could feel the nerves oozing from Izzy, but for a 21 year old, she definitely wowed the audience in Rescue Rooms.
The night’s leading woman opened her set-list with ‘Holding Onto Heaven’ from her debut album, her live rendition of this particular track worked extremely well; much better than the recorded version released as a single. This holds for much of the songs that she performed on Monday night, and she really validated her own description of the new album as being “definitely not as produced” with the tracks being “a lot more vocal [with] piano and strings”.
“With tracks such as ‘Diamonds’ and ‘White Tiger’, Izzy Bizu is an up and coming artist that deserves your attention”
A shoutout must be given to her band who flanked her onstage; they played well and allowed Foxes to perform with ease. After this track, we were treated to a new track off her upcoming album, ‘Amazing’, which featured some great vocal work. Louisa then went back to a gem from her Radio 1 Live Lounge performance in the form of a cover of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Photograph’, which was absolutely fantastic. It was quite a switch up coming from the more poppy songs that she opened with, and her version of the song is definitely a contender to Ed Sheeran’s original.
Following the cover, the gig was a mixture of a medley of songs from her debut album including tracks like ‘Youth’, ‘Home’ and ‘White Coats’, and we were also treated to her first live performance of ‘Cruel’. This track, following on from the medley of tracks from her debut album, really showcases her evolution as an artist over the two year recording period between albums and underlines her own description of her music as a type of ‘experimental pop’. She closed her night at Rescue Rooms with a performance of the popular track ‘Better Love’, the second single from her upcoming album, to rapturous applause from the attending audience, and all in all, it was a great concert from a great artist who will no doubt enjoy success from her new album ‘All I Need’.
Shaun Brewster
