one4review | On 31, Jul 2025

Filed under: memory, myth, and great songs

Florencia Iriondo returns to Edinburgh with Song Society, a one-woman folk-pop musical that quietly pushes back against the Fringe’s obsession with polish and pitch decks. It’s lo-fi, full of heart, and proudly analogue in a world obsessed with algorithms. That alone feels almost rebellious.

Set in a near-future where memories can be catalogued, wiped, or stored, Iriondo plays the “Song Keeper” — part ethereal narrator, part anxious librarian of the soul. She files emotional clutter using OLGA, a memory-erasing machine that looks like it was salvaged from a millennial-era Ed Wood production. Named after her grandmother, OLGA is more than a prop — it’s a thread that ties together the show’s warm, surreal undercurrent.

The concept smartly avoids sci-fi cliché — no 2001 monoliths or Forbidden Planet vibes — but it’s the music that gives the piece its pulse. Iriondo’s songwriting, steeped in folk-pop, musical theatre, and South American cadence, is tender, clever, and occasionally brilliant. A standout track, Society, has the nuance of a future drama school audition staple — heartfelt, haunting, and crafted with the care of someone who understands both melody and memory. The other songs aren’t necessarily built to dazzle, but they ground you emotionally. The lyrics land softly, but with surprising weight.
Iriondo herself is a quietly magnetic presence — charismatic, vocally rich, and emotionally exact. A performer well worth tracking.

There’s humour here too — perfectly underplayed, with that Gen X self-awareness that doesn’t need to announce itself. Iriondo’s writing has bass, and while her character isn’t out to change or rebel against the world, she’s happy in her role: label it, file it, and hum along while it slowly burns. A brief voice cameo from Amy Sedaris is also an unexpected delight.

If there’s a minor criticism, it’s the early wobble — a clunky opening and a little too much exposition squeezed into a short window — but this fades as the show finds its rhythm. Truthfully, the hour-long format feels slightly constraining; a longer version would likely iron out those early creases and allow the material to breathe.

In summary, Song Society signals real promise: a fresh, emotionally resonant take on a genre that’s too often boxed in by cliché. The songs alone raise the emotional temperature. If Total Recall, Eternal Sunshine, and Upload had a theatrical baby, scored by a mellowed-out Chappell Roan, it might sound and look like this. There’s something quietly original here — and it feels like a show with legs.

This is exactly what the Edinburgh Festival is about: discovery and taking a chance on the unknown. And unlike the premise, this is a memory that lingers — in the best possible way.

***1/2

Reviewed by Steve H
Underbelly Bristo Square – Dexter
13.15 (1hr)
Until 25 Aug (not 12)