Lois Leon: Fickle Pickle, Southend

Image Credit: Indie Cult Club

Southend’s Lois Leon opened the third instalment of Indie Cult Club’s Teenage Kicks at the Fickle Pickle in Southend last week.

In April, we caught them at the same venue, and there was an effortless quality to their brand of slacker-rock-meets-shoegaze playing. Fast forward two months, and they came armed with two new songs and a newfound abrasiveness.

Their languid style remained, but the new songs had an eagerness and a directness to step forward. A confidence percolated every toiling guitar riff and every sultry vocal delivery. This is a band in the ascendancy.

Their single ‘Stuck’ felt grander, more cinematic. Subtle, but adventurous, it grows into the room as only a great indie movie can. Frontwoman Lois’ delivery charts a course from innocence to torture, and it’s nothing short of intoxicating.

If Losi Leon’s previous appearance at the Fickle Pickle hinted at potential, this set felt like proof of it. With sharper edges, stronger songs and a growing sense of purpose, they left little doubt that bigger stages await.