image not mine

Given we live in very much a copy-of-a-copy world, it’s nice to see genuine originality in any walk of life- though perhaps particularly in the ‘pop music’ space.  Pushing such intent for originality and ‘newness’, Shannon Pearl’s blend of neo-folk and witch-pop music has been gaining some noise, at least in the local press, with its intent to land somewhere in an ethereal and traditional setting.  Taking to stage tonight, Pearl is clearly intent not just to replicate her recordings but also to bring them to life- inside of a dramatic staging complete with layers of costume, movement and theatrics.  Intimate and atmospheric, it’s non the less the music, as it should, which stands out tonight – Pearl floating her vocals over and around a dark folk sound – sweeping and soaring in places, whispering in others.  Playing to very much a ‘home’ crowd, the next challenge for Pearl will be to take her music, and live show, to places where originality is not always the main pull.