Art School Girlfriend give an intimate, visually rich performance
Words: Ciaran Hiscox
Photos: Phil Jones-Jeffreys
★★★★☆
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The stage was covered in smoke as Art School Girlfriend emerged, with the instruments arranged in a square formation that made the performance feel cosy and intimate. Behind the band, a projector screen set the tone for what became a deeply ambient and atmospheric show.
Photos: Phil Jones-Jeffreys
‘The Peaks’ opened the set, easing the audience into a carefully crafted soundscape that blended shoe-gaze with trap-hop. Soft, hazy vocals drifted over light keys and dreamy synths, creating an immersive and hypnotic experience.
The visuals played a crucial role during the performance. Projected videos resembled found-footage home recordings of landscapes and nature, shifting to match the emotional tone of each song. During ‘Bending Back’, one of their earliest tracks, the lyrics appeared on screen through subtle motion graphics. This technique returned for ‘Is It Light Where You Are’, enhanced by clips of people around the world filming at the exact same moment, 12:30, 2nd July 2021, adding a world wide sense of connection and depth to the live performance, making me feel this was a cross between gig and an art house project.
Photos: Phil Jones-Jeffreys
The setlist felt versatile, moving fluidly across styles and emotions. One personal standout was ‘L.Y.A.T.T’, which captured the essence of the night’s mood perfectly.
For me, Art School Girlfriend is the kind of artist you listen to through headphones when you want to feel like the protagonist of a brooding indie film and this performance brought that feeling vividly to life.