ALICE GLASS + CLT DRP – CONCORDE 2, BRIGHTON 2.5.23
Last night’s lineup at the storied Concorde 2 was admittedly a little strange at first glance. What do a feminist electro-punk trio with a name you can’t say in front of your dad, and a haunting veteran of techno-pop culture, have in common? Where’s the intersection there? It’s me, I’m the intersection. It’s like this lineup was specifically booked for me.
Returning to Brighton for the first time in almost a decade was Alice Glass, an iconic voice of electronica with a word-of-mouth reputation as a powerful and enigmatic presence on any stage she storms onto. In my early teen years, Glass’ work as the frontwoman of electronic band Crystal Castles fascinated me, but just as I discovered her band, she left it, coming forward with heart-breaking allegations of abuse faced within the band. Anyone would need time away from the scene to recover after this, but Glass has spent the last few years carving her own path as a truly impassioned figure within modern electronica.
With this in mind, her support for the night coming from beloved Brighton locals CLT DRP makes all the more sense. Like Glass, they’re a group capable of bringing together gnarly techno soundscapes worth moshing to, as well as powerful diary-like lyrics on the hardships of navigating a sexist world worth really pausing to absorb.
They kicked off their set with ‘I Don’t Wanna Go To The Gym’, a track that manages to contain an awful lot of nuance without sacrificing its snarl. It’s also a showcase of vocalist Annie Dorrett’s range as a performer, definitely one of the most impressive on the scene. On their next song ‘Nothing Clever, Just Feelings’, Dorrett re-asserted that, while she’s got a killer belt with which to command respect from those who’ve underestimated her, they can also bring a genuinely haunting quality to their softer vocals.
There’s a strong balance in CLT DRP’s set between live favourites and newer material. As phenomenal as their 2020 debut album was, and as much as I love hearing album tracks like ‘Where The Boys Are’ live, it’s always a treat to see a setlist you’re familiar with get changed up.
The standout track of their set was definitely ‘New Boy’, the trio’s latest single and their set closer. Not only were the song’s tempo and atmosphere changes constantly keeping the well warmed-up crowd on their toes, but the actual performance was a gig photographer’s dream come true. Drummer Daph Koskeridou and guitarist Scott Reynolds hit or shredded their respective instruments in perfect sync, taking dramatic pauses under blood-red light like stills from a cinematic battle scene.
CLT DRP setlist:
‘I Don’t Wanna Go To The Gym’
‘Nothing Clever, Just Feelings’
‘Cake For The Women’
‘Aftermath’
‘Ownership’
‘Where The Boys Are’
‘New Boy’
One thing Alice Glass and CLT DRP definitely share is their onstage expressiveness. From the moment our headliner skipped onto the stage, she modelled the power of moving however you damn well please for her audience. You’d half expect lyrics like “tell me those lies again/can’t believe I trusted you” from opening track ‘Nightmares’ to be sung stock-still with solemn gravity, but audiences saw Alice Glass careen around the stage as fast as her viciously whirring synths.
Her command of the crowd, mostly dressed in similarly avant-goth gear to Glass herself, is a testament to decades on the scene keeping party-goers frantic, even while the lyrics spell tragedy.
Trauma hangs heavy over Alice Glass’ solo career. I don’t think feigning carelessness about her subject matter is something Glass is really capable of as a performer, nor should it be something she has to do. Songs like ‘Fair Game’ are righteously livid, and performing them without that rage wouldn’t be the same. It’s pretty plain to see why this has become Glass’ impassioned outlet: after being sued for defamation in a quickly dismissed lawsuit for speaking out about her experiences with abuse and sexual assault, her music has become a safe place for her to tell her stories.
Much like how social media can make people feel comfortable to say things they otherwise would never say to your face, the anonymity of Glass’ chosen genre of techno offers her a shimmering smokescreen to declare her truth behind.
I’m not actually that big on some techno, explicitly because of its inhumanity, but this was never a fear with Glass’ Concorde 2 show.
She emerged onto the stage in a haze of purple smoke and hype that’s over a decade in the making, and set about proving why she deserves this fanbase. The keening cries of tracks like ‘Love Is Violence’ and ‘Baby Teeth’ from her debut album made it clear that she uses autotune not to artificially scaffold in talent, but to amplify it. Her confessional lyrics, punctuated by glitchy vocal effects, pierced through the venue, demanding to be taken seriously.
Alice Glass played a few favourites from her time in Crystal Castles, including fondly remembered track ‘Alice Practice’, which got perhaps the most visible reaction of the night from a full room of manically jumping gig-goers. However, it seemed Glass didn’t want to dwell on music that wasn’t entirely hers.
As tempting as it can be to reclaim old material, the heavy presence of her debut album on the setlist was a testament to her moving forward – and that’s definitely not a bad thing. Glass may have been as breathless as her audience by the encore, but her voice on powerhouses like ‘Cease & Desist’ still didn’t disappoint.
Alice Glass setlist:
‘Nightmares’
‘Baby Teeth’
‘Forgiveness’
‘Love Is Violence’
‘White Lies’
‘Blood Oath’
‘Suffer & Swallow’
‘Without Love’
‘The Hunted’
‘Celestica’ (Crystal Castles song)
‘Still Birth’
‘Alice Practice’ (Crystal Castles song)
‘Love & Caring’
‘Fair Game’
‘Animosity’
(encore)
‘Cease & Desist’
‘Pinned Beneath Limbs’
‘Youth Problem’
