Bryde – Live At St Pancras Old Church Review

What does Bryde sound like?

Raw, rocking anthems that take indie-pop hooks and beefs them up to eleven.

The review of ‘Live At St Pancras Old Church’ by Bryde

Live albums are wonderful time capsules of performances you’d otherwise never be able to capture again. Some performers sound just like their studio performances, others change up setlists and styles night after night. We also have performers who will take a plugged album on tour acoustically or with a stripped-down solo show. That is where we find Bryde with her new live release. Her solo albums to date contain big rock numbers, power chords, and huge vocal performances. Translating that to a single electric guitar and sustaining the energy required for a live show for 45 minutes requires skill, talent and stage presence. Bryde has all three in spades.

This show is raw, unfiltered, and overflowing with passion. Whether it is the curious curls of ‘Wouldn’t That Make You Feel Good’ that allow Bryde to slink and muse or it is the outpouring of wails and hollers from ‘On The Subject Of Breathing’ – we’re on a rollercoaster. Each song has a wax and wane to it, as does the setlist. ‘Algorithms’ is gently wistful and reflective with the gentle guitar noodling hanging in the amp buzz. ‘A Way’ takes on a darker, Southern blues angst. The guitar stays low and underplayed whilst Bryde knows exactly when to smash a big note and enthral the audience.

There are so many highlights across the 13 tracks, but I’ll call out a couple of special performances. ‘But I Come Back Down’ turns some of the poppier vocalisation riffs into tired, breathy laments. ‘Wait’ is a taut, outpouring of emotion that showcases Bryde’s songwriting and performing skills perfectly. ‘To Be Loved’ gives me raw PJ Harvey spirit, channelling a big riff and some bigger chords into a “4-track demo” style performance. It might be a lazy comparison but energetically, this live performance permeates the same aura. You get every fibre of Bryde’s being in every note and you can hear a pin drop. Whether that’s in the gentle lullaby of ‘Transparent’, or the rousing finale ‘Help Yourself’ – it’s an electric performance.

Whilst perhaps not the ideal entry point for an artist who has been making some of Wales’ best rock music for years, this is a fantastic gift to existing fans. Bryde is in fine form, blasting notes one second and then barely making a sound the next. Dynamic, passionate, and entrancing. It’s the kind of bootleg you’d pay ridiculous money for in the 90s and treasure after discovering. Yes, it’s for the fans., but I hope the samples make you curious enough to look further and become one. [Also St Pancras Old Church holds so many great gigs – it’s probably my favourite music venue.]

Recommended track: Wait – Live

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