Let’s Eat Grandma - Vanity Fairy
Lee Harper
What a fantastic start to my gigging year. Let’s Eat Grandma returned to the stage after a two-year hiatus with a bang, in anticipation of their new album (release date April 22nd). The two Norwich based girls formed the band in 2013 and have been lifelong friends. They define their music as “experimental sludge pop”, though it would be easy to say that they’re making tracks for the kids like them, who grew up on their parents’ music. The new songs have a fresh maturity to them, reflecting the two years they’ve spent away, and vary from uppy dance tracks to magical tear jerkers.
Channelling Kate Bush, Vanity Fairy opened the show in a flowing vintage dress and the coolest sunglasses I have ever seen. Her music was synthy and 70’s/80’s inspired, paired with a campy performance that was impossible not to love. Whether or not Vanity Fairy’s throwback tunes are your kind of thing, it’s undeniable that they are doing their own thing, and they are incredibly fun to watch.
On to the main event. Out stroll Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth, bedecked in a stunning cobalt jumpsuit and sparkly dress respectively. Starting off the night with the pop-tinged Happy New Year, they slammed through the set with very little chatter, but boat loads of their characteristic energy. Hot Pink stood out particularly well, a message to people who doubted them simply for their age and gender wrapped up in a shiny pop package packed with punchy drums and shouty vocals.
The mood turned to sombre as Hollingworth took the lead vocals for their unreleased song Watching You Go. The song was written for Hollingworth’s boyfriend, who passed away in the summer of 2019, and the way her grief has affected her comes through in her new songs. She followed with the beautiful Two Ribbons, a lilting, almost haunting song, that I’m not ashamed to say brought tears to my eyes. To finish the gig they came back for an encore with Donnie Darko, a moody, psychedelic song from their 2018 album I’m All Ears. The mood was electric, and everyone was buzzing afterwards.
It was an absolute joy to be able to see our Norwich girls at the Arts Centre, and a fantastic start to my musical year. Let’s Eat Grandma are a pleasure to watch, in turns fun and bouncy, then beautifully introspective, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.
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