Fizz @ Rough Trade

Izzy Morris reviews Fizz’s exciting Nottingham gig, where the bubbly indie group shone while debuting their brand new album, The Secret to Life.

It’s pretty rare to have a midday gig in the calendar, but Fizz’s visit to Rough Trade Nottingham meant that Hockley very quickly became filled with young people donning facial glitter, felt strawberry hats and PLENTY of Lucy and Yak dungarees. The queue to entry snaked around the block, awaiting the arrival of the indie-pop super-group for an intimate gig celebrating the release of their debut album, The Secret To Life. Processing this enormous queue gave me *just* enough time to grab a quick oat milk latte and vegan chocolate cake slice from local café Dispatch before being welcomed into the incredible, psychedelic, technicolour world of Fizz. Inside the café, guests remarked at the dazzling fashion of the queue that had formed, and speculated on who it might be that’s performing there. Without even a sniff of what Fizz sound like, who they are or what they’re about, Rough Trade’s neighbours certainly had their interest piqued by all of this excitement.

The cosy upstairs of Rough Trade was filled to the brim with Fizz fans, leaving me stuck behind a lovely plinth for the duration of the gig. But even without complete vision, I was very quickly swept into their magical realm. What I did see, was a craft-core paper mache venus fly trap in one corner, and the fantastic Greta Isaac in the corner, donning white ruffles and black hot pants. Peering around the corner, you’d also be able to catch Dodie in a monochrome, almost clown-like outfit, with stage makeup to match, accompanied by Martin Luke Brown with a crocheted arm brace and Orla Gartland in a cat corset. For both the audience and the talent, whimsy was the wardrobe.

All four use their voices to create interesting and unconventional chords in such a theatrical way. There is nothing dull about Fizz.

The door to their vibrant fantasy land was opened with their leading single High In Brighton. This harmony-heavy song in a live setting acts like the opening track to a stage show. It’s packed to the brim with sugary-sweet flavours, like those you’d experience on a Brighton beach, and even in a smaller venue without drums and all of the bells and whistles, it still managed to feel grand. Perhaps it was the added vocals from the audience, but I really think the secret is this incredible maximalist approach that Fizz embodies. All four use their voices to create interesting and unconventional chords in such a theatrical way. There is nothing dull about Fizz.

This high-energy, fun start to the set was then followed up with a track that has not yet failed to make me giggle. Martin Luke Brown takes the lead on Rocket League, a song about enjoying playing the hit game of the same name that sees players use cars to play football. An absurdist concept, that somehow, despite it being a rogue choice to inspire a song, manages to make complete sense for Fizz.

The set managed to capture both the humour and razzle-dazzle of Fizz and also the raw emotional songwriting that all four artists independently have been known for.

The set managed to capture both the humour and razzle-dazzle of Fizz and also the raw emotional songwriting that all four artists independently have been known for. I Just Died, for example, despite some cheery sounding vocals at times and the high energy of the track, is definitely not a happy one. And then you get to You, Me, Lonely and Lights Out and it’s very clear that the rollercoaster ride has started to slow down. And it’s beautiful.

Lights Out in particular in an intimate setting like Rough Trade, hits different. Their rich harmonies bounced around the walls of the room and flooded through the audience. It

was arresting.

Particularly for an instore, where sets tend to be shorter, we got quite a lot from the band, with pretty much the whole album give or take. It’s great to see what we’ve all been waiting for come to life, and I’m so happy that I got to spend the afternoon in Fizzville with Martin, Greta, Dodie and Orla.

Izzy Morris

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Edited by Tabitha Smith

Featured Image courtesy of yourfavebandfizz via Facebook