She’s In Parties, ELLiS-D, Tears At The Table and Ninush raise the bar for Night 2 of Hello 2026 review • DIY Magazine

We may say it every year, but it’s true - there really is nothing like a sweaty-ceilinged show to blow the January cobwebs away. For many people - bands and punters alike - DIY’s annual Old Blue Last gig series is the year’s first chance to shake it all off and dive headfirst into a pool of thrilling new talent, and it seems that Hello 2026 is shaping up to be no different.

For the good folk happy enough to brave the hammering rain, tonight’s opener Ninush is alone ample reward for their efforts, her charming chamber-pop offerings effortlessly silencing even somewhere as busy as this. No stranger to a stage, Ninush - aka Nina Lim - has been woven into the fabric of London’s alternative underground for some time now, having played violin for everyone from Black Country, New Road and Geordie Greep to JADE and Little Simz.

Under her own banner, she channels both the boundary-pushing sensibilities of said scene-leaders (rarely, we’d guess, has OBL played host to a lineup spanning cello, piccolo, flute, keys and more), and the intimate confessionals of fellow live member-slash-soloist Blossom Caldarone, making for a sound that’s at once playful and profound. Belying this evening’s gossamer set - predominantly cuts from her upcoming debut EP, ‘The Flowers I See You In’ - is a considered complexity that, across the next 30 minutes, manifests in moving, multi-layered arrangements which unfurl with all the delicate beauty of their project’s namesake.

From one potentially familiar face to a few more, next up is Tears At The Table - a new alt-rock outfit whose members include one half of grunge duo Fräulein and the founder of London collective/promoter VOCAL GIRLS. Led by vocalist Megan Graye - whose tongue is firmly in cheek as she bounces off the packed room (“Are you ready?” she asks, before meeting the audience’s answering whoops with the grinning observation that “I was talking to the band”) - TATT may not officially have any music out in the world just yet, but already they’re proving a vitally compelling prospect. Combining fuzzed-out guitars with haunting, reverb-drenched vocals, the five-piece land somewhere between Siouxsie And The Banshees and Mazzy Star, revelling in moodiness and striking shadow play.

Of all the acts on tonight’s bill, it’s Brighton’s ELLiS-D whose live reputation precedes him; he is, by all accounts, a formidable force that once seen is not easily forgotten. Possessing the vocal art-pop theatrics of Walt Disco, the sometime jazz grooves of Fat Dog (for whom he drums), and the glam-rock swash of New York Dolls , Ellis Dickson’s solo project is something of a Frankenstein affair - off-kilter, chaotic, and magnificently madcap. Airing cuts from last year’s ‘Spill’ EP, the band stand at the eye of a swirling maelstrom, their leader’s arresting presence its unstable linchpin. And, as he launches himself into the crowd with barely restrained glee, there’s a distinct sense that the set could be mere seconds away from total disarray - quite frankly, it’s thrilling.

For Essex/London quartet She’s In Parties, headlining tonight’s installment of Hello 2026 is something of a victory lap, an assertion of their exponential trajectory from shoegaze newbies to shimmering dream-pop provocateurs à la Pale Waves. Frontwoman Katie Dillon cuts a striking figure as she dances, jumps, and twirls her way through the setlist, the surefire highlights of which are lifted from the band’s latest EP, ‘Are You Dreaming?’. Between its title track and closer ‘R.E.M.’, the sleep metaphor is an apt one, so spellbound are the crowd; as the band ready their final swing, it’s with a slight bittersweetnes - this is a dreamstate in which we’d all like to dwell a little longer.