Live

Cosmorat bring feisty fun to the latest edition of One Way Or Another showcase

Tonguetied and Sol Child also took to the stage at the second show of our monthly live series with Parallel Lines.

Words: Sarah Jamieson
Photos: Emma Swann
7th November 2023

While Storm Ciarán might be trying its best to cause a ruckus across London this evening, that’s not enough to put punters off venturing to the intimate confines of Stoke Newington’s Waiting Room for a night of scintillating new music.

Taking to the stage first for the latest edition of One Way Or Another - DIY’s monthly live series, in collaboration with Parallel Lines - Sol Child’s set-up may be more stripped back but her storytelling is bold; guiding us through her recent ‘Spring’s Dawn’ EP, her dreamy, pop-flecked offerings tell the story of a journey to self-acceptance, with ’Crutch’ - and its math-rocky backing and reflective lyricism - providing a particular highlight.

Next on this evening’s bill comes the synth-pop stylings of Elena Garcia’s Tonguetied. Fresh from the release of her debut EP ‘Bloom’, and considering tonight’s show is her very first live performance, her set already feels incredibly polished. Pairing sultry beats and hypnotic vocals, her offerings sit in the danceable-yet-dark sweet spot between FKA twigs, yunè pinku and Kate Bush, while an array of eery projections and flashing strobe lights - most notably, the word 'GREED' that menacingly flashes across the stage towards the end of a freshly-written "angry" new track - breathe even more life into her haunting, sonic world.

Cosmorat, Tonguetied & Sol Child, The Waiting Room, London

Despite the fact that Cosmorat only released their debut single a matter of weeks ago, tonight you get the sense they already know exactly who they are. Smushing together all the best bits from every corner of music and throwing them out in a riotous, rollicking manner, the Pennsylvania-via-London quartet are chaotically fun from the off. A little like if Los Campesinos! happened to have younger American cousins, their scuzzy-edged pop tracks are infectious and unpredictable, while their ringleader Taylor Pollock swings from sugary-sweet vocals (the opening chant of their most recent single ’S.A.D.L.U.V’, case in point) to gnarly shredding in the blink of an eye. “We are gonna be the biggest band on LinkedIn!” their singer yells gleefully towards the end of their set; it’s this kind of tongue-in-cheek, playful attitude that's likely to set them apart.