I had been sent her debut album for review in August of last year and it blew me away, so after she canceled a New York date last October, I knew I couldn’t miss her yet again.

She did not disappoint and the crowd was lapping it up (though I would have appreciated it, if the two girls next to me hadn’t been lapping each other up as well; very distracting).

Ladyhawke at Bowery Ballroom; March 24th 2009

Here’s the full set on Prefix featuring openers Heartsrevolution and Peggy Sue.

Wednesday was Morrissey day as planned. After an hour of standing in the cold, the line at Webster Hall that went around the corner moved briskly inside. Without a photo pass, I tried my best to get decent shots while craning around the really tall people in front of me (minimum amount of success).

Morrissey at Webster Hall; March 25th 2009

Read the full review of the show on Out magazine’s Popnography blog.

Tomorrow it’s time for Glasvegas and Ida Maria. Stay tuned!

Released: September 22nd 2008

Ladyhawke (aka Pip Brown) is a one-woman show. A lady of many talents, she’s been playing music one way or another since she was eleven and it shows: the whole album, track for track, is polished and catchy. Her slightly rough and breathy vocals are accompanied by backing vocals, bass guitar, drums, electric guitar, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, and, you guessed it, she does it all.

‘Magic’ sets the tone: immense, theatrical and synth-tastic. ‘Another Runaway’ a throwback to the decade of big hair, the influence of the 70s and 8os evident in the measured guitar riffs layered by rhythmic synth-work. ‘Morning Dreams’ is the ballad of the album, still grand in design, but more wistful, better for swaying – lighters and glowing cell phones held aloft, waving in the gloom, – rather than a dance-floor filler.

The second single, ‘Paris Is Burning,’ would fit right in, booming from the foot-tall speakers of a nightclub. Though thoroughly modern with a beat measured in hand-claps, it’s still reminiscent of Gary Numan’s ‘Cars,’ and you just want to sing along. ‘Professional Suicide,’ na-na-naing with a cynic’s advice, and ‘Dusk Till Dawn,’ methodic do-do-doos are a double-hit. They cement the dichotomy of upbeat beats and downtrodden lyrics.

The album is arena-worthy and pyrotechnics-inspiring, and you start seeing that Ladyhawke is very serious when she says, “The louder, the better.”

Previously published on This Is Fake DIY.