˙❁ ˖Gig Review⋆｡ °: The Line Of Best Fit ‘5 Day Forecast’ 18.01.24
16 February 2024
It’s concrete and candlelit, with a range of cocktails and wines on offer. We’d come to a free Bird on the Wire gig featuring two indie/alternative artists Silver Gore and gglum. Throughout the night Marco Pini of Sorry DJed from inside a glowing alcove to the left of the stage. His song selection was eclectic, but every choice worked especially for the young, art school graduate crowd.
Ava of Silver Gore arrived on stage solo without collaborator Ethan P Flynn, soldiering on despite dealing with laryngitis. The set felt very DIY due to backing tracks having to be played off a phone because of technical issues and the lack of a band, but her vocals were strong enough to keep the audience captivated. Most of the songs played were unreleased including ‘In Your Eyes’ and ‘Celestial Intervention’ but she did give a beautiful rendition of what is currently their only single ‘25 Meters’. The production on all the songs was notably well executed even the last song which she claimed they had only written the other day. I’d love to see Silver Gore again when things are a bit more in their favour as I’m sure Ava would be even more impressive with proper accompaniment.
gglum is the pseudonym of Ella Smoker. This gig was just a couple of days before her debut album ‘The Garden Dream’ was released, something she stated she’d been working on for a long time. The band quickly made the stage their own playground, strapping flowers to the mic stand and placing ‘Britney Flesh’, a hand drawn mascot they call their “baby”, in front of it. They played a taster from the new album which was heavier than the songs played previously, and got the crowd dancing. There was a strong balance of electronic and more acoustic sounds throughout the set as they seamlessly blended genres. Much of their music feels like it’s straight out of a coming of age film which is fitting since, as Smoke mentioned, they once featured in the Netflix show ‘Elite’ during a “4 minute blowjob scene”. She said she hopes her songs are never played on TV again because there’s no way that could be topped. There were elements of indie rock, Laufey, and Of Monsters and Men but with Smoker’s own unique spin. ‘The Garden Dream’, released under Secretly Canadian, is available now to listen to.
