one4review | On 09, Oct 2024

Mesmerising : The Sky Is The Limit For the Artist That Could (and probably will).

Singer/Songwriter Aurora is something of a Norwegian Femininomenon.
With billions of streams, five albums released so far she’s no overnight success. She’s worked hard perfecting her craft blending folk, electro and dark folk-pop together and now everyone is taking notice.

Tonight is the last night of the UK tour and the sold out Usher Hall is the perfect venue for her ethereal voice. A video screen is on and she appears and says “Shhhhhh. So Quiet. Hello? Are You Awake?” Then BOOM!
She enters with white dress on binding everyone when the lights hit her, like a candle or beacon.

Starting with the haunting lo-fi Churchyard, acoustically the venue is perfect. Followed up quickly with the more up tempo All Is Soft Inside and A Soul with No King the drums and bass really kick in and you feel in hit your chest like a hammer.
The young audience are enthralled and mesmerised at the same time, so much so and something of a refreshing rarity these days, hardly any camera phones are raised aloft.

Heathens, The Forbidden Fruit of Eden and When the Dark Dresses Lightly follow by one of highlights of the evening The Blade, a chant-ish call with a killer bass line. The screen really helps with pre made video lighting in b/w which helps illuminate the stage as well as the lighting.

She thanks the audience for coming, explains she feels the love from the ground and the connection with Scotland and Norway. She also apologises for not being in Scotland as much of late, something that she wants to remedy in the future.

Soulless Creatures, Murder Song, Exist for Love and the brilliant debut single from 2015 Runaway follow. She’s really in her stride and her stage presence is a combination of Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks. The Seed is next, vocally her incredible soprano voice blends in the lyrics, influences abound from Leonard Cohen, Lorde and Bjork.

Finally, the set turns into almost a full-on rave, with Queendom, new song Starvation and Giving In to the Love filling the venue full of joyous love. Families, couples, friends are hugging and in tears of happiness and togetherness.

For an encore, pop perfection follows with Cure For Me, Some Type of Skin and the beautifully operatic Invisible Wounds.

The gig has ended, but the spirit is still high. For this reviewer Aurora is the best female artist I’ve seen since watching a then unknown Florence Welch at a small tent at Glastonbury. Could Aurora headline a stage at that festival in future? Absolutely.

The Brat Summer may be over, but take solace we can now all bask in an Aurora Autumn. Outstanding.

*****
Reviewed by Steve H
5th October 2024 Five Stars