Emily Whitchurch
I’m a recent politics graduate and freelance journalist based between the Midlands and London!
Wednesday’s Child bring their new EP ‘All Dressed Up’ to London’s Lexington for a dark and distinctive performance
“Wednesday’s child is full of woe,” so goes the old English nursery rhyme. But at the Lexington in North London last week, woefulness was nowhere to be found, as the experimental art-rock quartet celebrated the launch of their third EP, ‘All Dressed Up’.
It can be hard to stand out in London’s crowded music scene but Wednesday’s Child have honed a truly distinctive sound, fusing psychedelic rock with jazz and punky spoken word. The result is unpredictable, at times unsettling, and utterly hypnotic live.
“I know my grave will be a garden,” lead singer Georgia Williams asserted on ‘Reimagination’, hands clasped in prayer. Their latest record is one of bloody, raw rebirth and vivid storytelling that made for a striking performance. Visceral lines about dismemberment in ‘Fever Pitch’ were brought to life by a lurching beat, and keyboardist Amelia Lawn also wielded a bassoon for various tracks like the turbulent closer ‘KNEES’.
But for all the dark lyricism and theatrics, the show didn’t feel overly heavy. ‘Ronnie’, named after the Ronettes frontwoman Ronnie Spector, had a lighter 60s groove to it thanks to Lawn’s jaunty piano accompaniment, while ‘Theda’ honoured the silent era actress and sex symbol Theda Bara with punchy guitar melodies aplenty.
This is a band for whom anything goes – it was really no surprise when Williams pulled out a cowbell during ‘Violent Hours’, or when ‘Darkness, mine’ jumped wildly between frenetic percussion and slow, almost prophetic, poetry. What’s consistent is Wednesday’s Child’s sharp artistic vision, performed with such conviction that you can’t help but surrender to their strange, spellbinding world.
Listen to ‘All Dressed Up’ here: