CATTY, Paige Kennedy, MAY and Yuneki bring pop brilliance for Hello 2025 review • DIY Magazine

Although Shoreditch’s Old Blue Last is perhaps better known as the storied stomping ground of indie bands and alternative stars, its transformation into prime pop girly territory for Night Three of DIY’s Hello 2025 gig series is undeniable.

From the moment doors open, the upstairs venue is crowded with eager faces, their enthusiasm almost palpable as opener Yuneki takes to the stage. Armed with honeyed vocals and confessional lyrics, she guides us gently through the undulations of breakups and breakdowns with endearing, self-effacing candour. “The next one is probably my happiest song,” she quips before ‘No Rush’ - a tentatively hopeful love letter to oneself, sealed with mesmerising harmonies and an earworm hook of which Self Esteem would be proud (“More than I thought I could be / Look what I’ve done and achieved”).

Sitting squarely at the other end of the spectrum, MAY cuts a striking figure in school uniform-esque attire, her erratic movements and self-assured attitude lending the set an uncanny yet utterly compelling air. Her vocalisations - at times singing, at times assuming a more rap-like cadence - sit atop shapeshifting synths and industrial beats, and it’s evident to everyone here that this is an artist at the vanguard of experimental pop.

After gently reprimanding the crowd for not having seen Mulholland Drive in their tribute to the late David Lynch - “it’s not all about Twin Peaks you know guys” - Paige Kennedy proceeds to treat us to a performance that’s part songs, part stand-up set, as they tongue-in-cheekily riff off devil worship, Elon Musk, the emotional timbre of our cheers and more. Musically speaking, there’s just as much going on: combining loungey grooves and irresistible funk basslines with avant-pop vocals and scathing lyrical observations (“Your mum tells me that I’ve got the wrong bathroom / I didn’t actually ask Karen”), their latest EP ‘Babylotion’ (and beyond) is rendered live here in glorious, full-bodied technicolour.

If there were ever any question marks over CATTY’s current trajectory towards becoming pop’s next queer icon, the number of hardcore stans here is enough to dispel any lingering doubts. Singing along to literally every word from the off - in some cases, while on FaceTime to friends who couldn’t make it - the young crowd are enraptured with every note, every move, every joke. As for CATTY herself, she’s every inch the star. Swapping between Americana-toned vocals (‘I Don’t Miss You (I Just Miss Your Mum)’), riotous pop-rock à la Avril and OlRod (‘Healing Out Of Spite’) and cabaret-like dramatic dynamism (new number ‘Joyride’), she holds the room in the palm of her hand throughout. Everything about CATTY - from her sound to her stage presence to her story (involving a cancelled Vegas wedding and being left for a 63 year-old man, apparently) feels purpose-made for bigger rooms; for those in attendance, tonight, it’s bound to be a source of future bragging rights that they caught her somewhere this small.