Live Review

Ray Bull, Chloe Qisha & Disgusting Sisters, The Victoria, London: An eclectic but memorable show for The Great Escape’s First Fifty

13th November 2024

It’s another busy night at The Victoria for the Brighton festival’s annual East London launch.

Words: Lisa Wright, Sarah Jamieson
Photos: Emma Swann
20th November 2024

A firm highlight on the London live calendar every year, The Great Escape’s First Fifty launch has returned once again to not just showcase the first slew of artists confirmed to play at next year’s edition of the festival, but to equally celebrate the Hackney area for its incredible venues and music community. As ever, the festival’s taken over eight venues for the occasion, with various buzzy new names taking to their stages across the night, but it’s slightly down the road at our own takeover of The Victoria that things are really kicking off.

Call it the extended fallout of a post-lockdown party mood or just something chaotic in the water, but from Confidence Man to Lynks and beyond, there’s an awful lot of fun being had on the alternative world’s stages right now. Into this lineage come Jules and Josie, aka Disgusting Sisters - two IRL siblings who splice ridiculous hairbrush choreography and tracksuits with a niche they’re calling “cunty pop-rock”. Think Romy and Michelle doing Dream Wife karaoke and you’re somewhere close. Their debut single ‘Killing It’ (now officially released via Speedy Wunderground) comes on like Aussie trio Haiku Hands replete with kitschy gun fingers, while the rest of tonight’s set is a wonderfully silly demonstration of a family in-joke gone further than either of them intended. If Mighty Hoopla isn’t on the phone to Disgusting Sisters right now, they’re missing a trick.

Ray Bull, Chloe Qisha & Disgusting Sisters, The Victoria, London

In stark contrast, tonight marks only the third ever live outing for Malaysia-born Chloe Qisha but, suit-clad and supremely confident, you would never guess it. The viral success of this summer’s second single ‘I Lied, I’m Sorry’ - an irrefutable earworm that deftly skips from deadpan speak-sing to effervescent pop chorus - can’t have hurt her swagger, but there are proper hits-in-waiting that back it up too. ‘Sexy Goodbye’ comes on like The 1975 doing ‘Funky Town’, all bubbling synths, listed girls’ names and breezy melodic smarts, while ‘Scary Movie’ nods to Olivia Rodrigo’s way with a mid-tempo hit. Still in her earliest stages, Qisha already has all the ingredients in place to end up somewhere special.

Taking another sonic swerve from the effervescent pop of Chloe's closing gambit ‘I Lied, I’m Sorry' come Brooklyn duo Ray Bull, with their warmly-hued brand of indie soft-rock. Closing the night to a dedicated and giddy crowd - it’s perhaps unsurprising to hear this lot have gathered a sizeable following on TikTok - the duo punctuate their swooning musical wares with a wit and humour that only strengthens their appeal: “This is the last show of our massive UK tour,” deadpans the band’s Aaron Graham, “we flew in yesterday and leave tomorrow." It’s their soaring viral hit ‘The New Things Die’ - from last year’s EP ‘Easy Way To Lose’ - that stands out most tonight though, with its emotive lyrics and nostalgic melodies working together to create the kind of evocative offering that's easy to fall for.