Cafe OTO, Dalston, London 09/12/23
Baltimore based Linda Smith and Maine resident Nancy Andrews brought their lo-fi dreampop soundworlds to Cafe OTO for Upset The Rhythm’s twentieth birthday celebrations, and it was a true elevation of the DIY-indie spirit and the unique power that it holds.
Leaning heavily on this year’s release A Passing Cloud, which featured the two long time friends reviving and refining material first worked on almost thirty years ago, their set shone a light not only on the true strength of the songs in all their stripped back wonder, but also the warmth of connection between two truly gifted artists.
The ethereal beauty of the likes of Room 435 and It’s Everytown gave way to starkly moving renditions of highlights from Smith’s vast back catalogue of home recordings, of which the eternal I So Liked Spring was a stunning highlight, likewise a soaring run through the 1992 Slumberland Records cut In This.
Leaving the stage to rapturous applause after holding the audience in the palm of their hands with the warmth of their words and the pure magic of their melodies, Linda Smith and Nancy Andrews brought to London an abundance of everything that is good about music, togetherness and the collective spirit.
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