Charlotte Sands is an artist whose music is made to be heard live.
During a jam-packed 70 minutes at a landmark headline show in London, the artist’s discography transcends the studio into a full blooded showcase of a star on the rise.
Even in the pitch black of the underground venue, Sands’ blue hair glows as she delivers the moody opening lines of ‘can we start over?’.
That atmospheric opener gives way to ‘pity’, the singer smirking in response to a rallying reply of “na, na, nas” from her London followers. In that moment, over her thick pop rock sound, Sands cuts an intimidatingly cool figure.
That illusion doesn’t last long, though. By the time Heaven rattles back the lines to ‘Rollercoaster’ her smirk turns into a grin and then a full on beam when her fans make the ground shake during ‘Lost’.
It’s the singer’s charisma that drives her energetic set. You can’t help but chuckle as she introduces break-up banger ‘dead body’ as “romantic and sweet” and later she sheds a tear during stadium-sized self care ballad ‘Alright‘.
It’s material from 2024’s debut record can we start over? that punctuates the night but there’s still time to visit the breakthrough hits that first saw the star making waves.
‘Every Guy Ever’ is an effortlessly endearing flick and ‘Bad Day’ is a raucous moment early in the set.
Even with the swooshing rock production and flickering lights, it’s impossible not to be taken by the strength of Sands’ voice. It’s at its most potent during ‘on the outside’ which moves from stripped back verses into huge choruses.
Meanwhile, 10 minutes of the show is dedicated to acoustic numbers picked by fans from a binder – which is, of course, blue. One in-the-know front row fan opts for ‘die in this room’, a ditty written about her fanbase which makes for a teary stripped back rendition.
Unsurprisingly, the singer amps up the energy for a final flurry of hits to close her set. ‘Spite’ is an album highlight and doesn’t disappoint live before she closes on viral hit ‘Dress’, the energy of Heaven matching the excitement of TikTok in 2022 – it’s impossible not to get on board the Charlotte Sands hype train.
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