Jasmine.4.t, The Pill, deary and Fuzz Lightyear bring the heat for Night 1 of DIY's Hello 2025 gig series review • DIY Magazine

Ah, the first full working week of January: post-Christmas purse strings are tight, sleep schedules are all out of whack, and the thought of fighting the gravitational pull of your sofa is far from appealing. Enter, Hello 2025 - DIY’s annual January blues-busting gig series of four free shows at Shoreditch’s storied Old Blue Last, packed full of exciting new artists that are set to become need-to-know names over the next 12 months. What better way to blow the cobwebs away, right?

Kicking things off with a bang on Night 1 are Leeds outfit Fuzz Lightyear; blurry by name but impressively tight by nature, the self-described ‘DIY boyband’ do a sterling job at countering the evening’s Baltic conditions by generating some serious heat onstage, forging through a set that simply demands the receipt of reciprocal energy. Channelling IDLES’ visceral snarl into lacerating yet layered songs of relentless pace, the quartet treat us to a welcome preview of latest single ‘Visual Effect’ (only their third release to date) before concluding with a gloriously gnarly instrumental breakdown that sees bassist Varun Govil descend to the floor, kneeling in submission to the noise.

Next up, we’re graced with the shoegazy soundscapes of deary - a dream-pop duo whose atmospheric amblings land somewhere between Cocteau Twins and Weyes Blood, and who are, by all accounts, nothing short of spellbinding. Having released their six-track second EP ‘Aurelia’ at the tail end of last year, the pair prove themselves masters of orchestrating a mood; vocalist Dottie Cockram weaves gossamer melodies over writing partner and producer Ben Easton’s intricate guitar textures, seemingly effortlessly sketching a sense of enveloping, lingering bliss.

If deary trade in delicacy, then Isle Of Wight lineup-mates The Pill are the perfect foil, peddling their unapologetically brash, slogan-able wares to a swelling crowd (wares with which, judging by the presence of more than one ‘I’m just a girl with big tits’ t-shirt, these punters are already well acquainted). With tongues that are both razor sharp and firmly in cheek, Lily Hutchings and Lottie Massey bounce off each other with the ease of two people on precisely the same wavelength, interspersing their playful punk offerings with quips about sugar daddies, mullets, and Club Penguin. For bags of fun and absolutely no fucks given, dose up on The Pill - doctor’s orders.

Topping the bill, jasmine.4.t and her stunning band are testament to the importance of trans representation; political, personal, powerful, and poignant, tonight’s set cements her as someone with the sort of diamond-in-the-rough presence that makes you feel lucky to be watching them in a room this small. At times evoking the folky, Americana twang of Adrianne Lenker or MJ Lenderman, at others leaning more into Courtney Barnett-like grungier territory, Jasmine’s work sits at the subtle intersection between devastation and empowerment; she’s visibly and audibly emotional when dedicating debut album title track ‘You Are The Morning’ to her best friend Yulia Trot (who’s currently “imprisoned for allegedly disrupting the Israeli war machine”), but defiant when leading the room in a chant of ‘Free Palestine!’. Phoebe Bridgers has long since been onboard - having signed Jasmine to her own label, Saddest Factory Records - and frankly, it’s not hard to see why.

Tags: Deary, Fuzz Lightyear, jasmine.4.t, The Pill, Reviews, Live Reviews