Our Girl were warmly welcomed back to Nottingham and The Bodega as they celebrated the release of their latest album The Good Kind, proving their ability to uplift and excite...
I can tell I’ve now become part of the furniture at The Bodega (I’m joking of course). The waxy part of the floor where I last stood still has the luminous blades of grass embedded in the floor from when I last went. That is probably just a coincidence, but it made me have paranoid thoughts. I was given a guitar pick-shaped sticker reminiscent of those on the amps and monitors as proof of a press pass. I felt more like a roadie than a music journalist. I cannot say that I’ve shared the same stories and experiences of a roadie, but as an observer of music in front of the stage I understand that there is a different connection between us and the live act. This connection is sometimes purely subjective but is also personable when you delve below the surface.
Supporting Our Girl on the night is Davoli, a quintet that brings the laurel canyon thousands of miles away right here to the heart of our city. They’re an impressive balance of delicate melodies and humming soundscapes evoking the morning after the night before. The eye-catching element responsible for this is the steel guitar in the far corner of the stage. Steel guitars have this ability to change the atmosphere whatever the weather. The crowd shifts from a mood of energetic fixation to tidal haziness, this all the while enjoying the music.
They are joined on stage by Jess Beer of Penny Moon who was on vocal and tambourine duties. There is calmness to Jess’s voice which balanced the psychedelic weight of their instrumentation.The addition certainly proved a worthy one and, in my opinion, is a collaboration worth seeing again. It's something I love seeing when collaborations take place amongst young artists.
Brighton via London outfit Our Girl, are no stranger to The Bodega. Lead singer and guitarist, Soph Nathan (also of The Big Moon fame) remarks in a slightly shy voice “It’s great to be at Bodega again, yay”. Despite the core band performing as a trio, four of them appear on stage minus drummer Lauren who was taken ill. This meant Fern, the band’s keyboard player and percussionist, had to take her seat behind the kit and learn the drum parts to each track within 24 hours. Given she is a percussionist this wouldn’t be too difficult a task... It took me 15 years to tie shoelaces, so it’s a far-reaching achievement; blowing mine out of the water on such a grand scale. I’m ashamed of myself, in all honesty.
Our Girl’s tour is in conjunction with their latest album The Good Kind which came out at the back end of last year. The record is an interesting blend of punchy punk poetics and sentimental odes to sexuality and conflict within relationships. The translation of this onto the stage sprung the crowd into action. Soph is armed with a telecaster and prepares to hit us over the head with swooning riffs and encompassing ballads. It’s gone from nought to eleven and the ever-changing lights send me into hyperdrive.
Despite being a member short, Fern is able to multitask with electronics proving to be a critical ingredient. It gives balance to the layered guitar riffs. It settles nerves and, while there are a few yawns from those behind me (I bet it’s from standing up all night), I’m content and want more action as do the majority. The riffs are reminiscent of Gang of Four with hints of Slowdive and modern hints of Goat Girl and Porridge Radio. It’s great to finally have a band that possesses such an uplifting aura that I can get up with and enjoy; just the kind of thing you want after a humdrum week of working and having a lack of enthusiasm.
The final song from the set, Something About Being a Woman was the fitting swan song to end a night of excitement and the crowd ascend into cavorting and frolicking - wanting that sweet peak of fulfilment.The song deals is a great introspection of one’s identity and how womanhood is seen as some sort of threat to a patriarchal structure.
It’s fair to say that the night was a huge success. The saying of things not being better the second time round proved to be a fallacy. Our Girl’s return leg to The Bodega was just as entertaining as the first.
Our Girl performed at The Bodega on 8th February 2025, with support from Davoli.
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