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Sophie Fennelly reviews...
Saturday night marked a triumphant end to Mollie Coddled’s headline tour. For University of Leeds students, it’s been almost impossible to miss this show’s promotion, with ‘for fans of Clairo’ posters plastered everywhere; from the union toilets to what seems like every single lamppost in the Hyde Park area. So, I headed down to Hyde Park Book Club on Saturday evening to check out the 21-year-old indie bedroom pop artist. My first impressions were certainly in-line with expectations: all of Mollie’s merch is hand printed onto second hand t-shirts, both ensuring sustainability and making each piece individual. Mollie herself stood in the crowd, surrounded by a group of friends – Mollie is a student at Leeds Conservatoire and the widespread support for her among the community was evident. The two support acts, Mia Jade and Lois, both indie pop artists, were phenomenal. However, Mia particularly stood out: despite only being aged 19, with two singles and a mere 36 monthly listeners on Spotify, Mia has an incredibly powerful voice and an evident talent for song writing, as well as being an understated yet effortless performer. I know that I will be keeping an eye out for her first EP which is set to be released at some point this year. Mollie’s genuine love for these two opening acts was abundantly clear as she was one of their loudest supporters in the crowd.
As for the headline set itself, Mollie’s cue to join the stage was the playing of Superbass over the speakers which Mollie sang along to through the mic before introducing herself, immediately winning over the audience with her light-hearted spirit. Beginning with Ur Eyes and playing through her first EP The Halo Effect, it immediately became clear that although the Clairo comparison is an apt representation of her music’s genre, Mollie’s playful vocal and performance style is bringing a distinctive and exciting energy to the indie bedroom pop scene. One that makes her equally captivating for fans and newbies, that I’m sure will make Mollie’s various upcoming festival performances this summer a roaring success. Perfectly toeing the line between never taking herself too seriously whilst also delivering a very genuine and effective performance, Mollie took a break from her own music halfway through her set to cover the Sugababes’ infamous hit About You Now which didn’t fail to rouse the audience and get everyone dancing. Following this high, Mollie played through the rest of her second EP i wanna go home which is markedly more upbeat than her first, at least in its instrumental composure if not in its lyrics. Peppering throughout two unreleased songs as well as some competitive audience participation, the show ended with an enthusiastic performance of lonely bitch in which Mollie came into the audience to perform the song. The intimate performance and freedom with which Mollie was able to interact with the audience is one of the many benefits of seeing smaller artists (as well as being able to brag once they make it big). One thing’s for sure, if you weren’t a fan of Mollie, or her supportMia and Lois, before watching them all perform, you certainly will be after.
Words: Sophie Fennelly
Image credit: Image 1 - Dice; Image 2 - Sophie Fennelly
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