Caroline Polachek, Hammersmith Apollo, London review • DIY Magazine

It isn’t often you’re handed the opportunity to witness a star at the peak of their fame. From Nirvana’s monumental Reading Festival 1992 set to the legendary moment Queen rolled out ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ during 1985’s Live Aid, both these moments now stand in time as capturing artists at their most creative, and well… their best. Memories that are held on to like heirlooms of the past, stories passed on to younger generations, amplifying their magical quality. Tonight, it’s hard to not align these feelings with Caroline Polachek. Backlit by a dozy warmth of savannah-toned lights with a slick latex body suit wrapped around her, it feels like the whole world is behind the singer. The performance at London’s Eventim Apollo (moved from Brixton’s O2 Academy) coincides with both Valentine’s Day and the release of latest album ‘Desire, I Want To Turn Into You’. There’s a palpable serendipity in the air in celebration, making her feel at home with their extended, capsizing cheers following the buoyant, glossy introduction of ‘Welcome To My Island’.

Despite the Hammersmith stage dwarfing Caroline and her minimal live band, she appears to own the space, strutting muscularly from left to right, gyrating and gesticulating to the pulses of her unconventional power pop. It becomes clear, as she bounds dutifully into 2019’s ‘Hit Me Where It Hurts’ and the newly-released ‘Pretty in Possible’, that she is revelling in the gravity of her situation. But after a brief foray into assorted tracks from both the new record and 2019’s ‘Pang’, she hits her stride the instant the bubbly synth from ‘Bunny Is A Rider’ teases the beginning of the lauded track: since its release back in 2021, the track has gone on to gain a near-religious following.

As the night moves, she dances through a flurry of backdrops, eventually playing all twelve songs from the just-released record. The audience matches her mood, with highlights including the stripped ‘Crude Drawing Of An Angel’ and ‘Fly To You’, a cerebral drum and bass track that features both Dido and Grimes on record. The bagpipe interlude of ‘Blood and Butter’ is accompanied by the mellifluous Brìghde Chaimbeul, fawning and falling with the rise of Caroline’s stunning vocal range."

We are teased with an encore fake out as the singalong hit ‘So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings’ plays out, the audience jubilant in celebration, some attendees embracing their loved ones on this unconventional Valentine’s occasion. Caroline leans into this love song she’s created for the oddballs, lacing the words of the chorus (“I get a little lonely / Get a little more close to me / You’re the only one that knows me babe”) with a little more pluckiness than usual. Bravely, the post-encore Caroline (now in a floaty red cowboy get-up) closes the show with the dense Daniel Avery-hearkening ‘Smoke’; the penultimate track on ‘Desire…’, which despite being only hours old, goes down a dream-pop treat.

As the lights fade down and the backdrop dims to reveal Caroline’s stark silhouette in front of us, we are witness an artist who has been deftly defying convention for years and is now being provided with the pedestal in which to display her innate talent for songwriting.

Tonight is Caroline Polachek’s vindication, and despite it being hard to avoid the Kate Bush comparisons that are so easily drawn from her voice-as-instrument vocal style, her erratic, summoning hand gestures and proud one-woman performance, it’s clear Caroline is in a league of her own. Seven releases into her now decade-spanning career, the prolific pop polyglot’s golden voice is finally reaching the spotlight that it so deserves.

Tags: Caroline Polachek, Reviews, Live Reviews