Lorde review – compelling performer but musically monotonous

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jun/08/lorde-review-brixton-academy-london

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"I played Madame Jojo's and the reporters were only there because their bosses told them to be," Lorde says, addressing the 5,000 people inside Brixton Academy. She's being a little disingenuous – her London debut last year had the entire music industry clamouring to get in; she's anything but an outsider. And, despite her being 17, she's anything but adolescent. The reason there are so many adults alongside the teenagers inside the venue is that she writes about teenage concerns with the clarity and sophistication of someone far older. She makes it possible to remember when, in the words of one of a previous generation's great chroniclers of teen emotion, "everything depends upon how near you stand to me".

She's a compelling performer, too. Clad in black trouser suit and white shirt, she's a world away from the flesh-baring tropes of so much teenage pop, in a manner that clearly resonates with the younger end of her audience: there are screams when she patrols the lip of the stage. Her dancing is oddly reminiscent of the zombies in the Thriller video, unexpected jerks and pops, but she's wonderfully unselfconscious, and her voice has a slight husky catch that lends gravitas even when the sentiments don't quite deserve it.

But her show is, literally, a little monotonous: the songs are of almost uniform pace and tone. With Tennis Court out of the way three songs in, there's a distinct sag until Royals and Team are played towards the end of the set, because everything sounds the same. There's a light, mid-paced drum pattern, some washes of synth, a tinkly melody line, and Lorde's voice. And then the same thing again. And again. And again. It stops mattering how good the lyrics are, as the longing begins for something, anything – bongos, jazz flute, an infant-school triangle player, whatever – to add variety. And then you have to remind yourself the reason that she's drinking water between songs is because she's not old enough to get served at the bar. There's plenty of time for Lorde, and once her musical imagination matches her talent, she'll be unbeatable.