#mellowcore

Lighting captured the mood of each track perfectly. Pounding guitars were exemplified by flashing blue light, while gentle plucking led to soft spotlights shining upon lead singer Elena Tonra as she nearly whispered lyrics. This was exemplified in the delicate yet potent track “Youth,” the band’s most popular single off their first record, If You Leave. The stage blacked out behind as a single beam of golden light illuminated Tonra while she sang the chilling chorus

“And if you’re in love, then you are the lucky one, ‘Cause most of us are bitter over someone.”

The light technician was skillfully able to keep up with the sharp changes in tones of songs, which were plentiful, and never less thrilling than the last. Just as a song sounded like it was fading out, powerful drums brought it right back around into another climax.

The set was undoubtably a rollercoaster of emotions, with each track’s bumpable rhythms and rockin’ guitars serving as a juxtaposition to lyrics dealing with loneliness, lost love, and depression. Powerful drums carried the tracks, exemplifying these emotions with it’s vibrations that made the audience physically feel the music.

When the band finally spoke, Tonra’s cute, tiny British voice came as no surprise. What did, however, is that it was guitarist’s birthday. Before the last track, they said how happy they were that Norfolk was their first stop ever in Virginia, and to feel welcomed so far away from home.

The band came back on quickly for an encore, winding the crowd down for the night with the low-key final track off their latest record, “Made of Stone.” The mellow tune was a perfect punctuation to the set that was full of twists and turns. Ending with a beautiful harmony, the song served to ground everyone in the audience and reflect on what they just witnessed.