You may have come across Lonelady (Julie Ann Campbell) in 2010 when she released her debut album Nerve Up. After showing very promising signs and getting some rave reviews, you would have thought Julie would have started on a follow up album immediately. In fact it has been five years for her second album (Hinterland) to be released, and it was worth the wait. Taking influences from a Manchester’s post-punk sound which she was bought up on, Julie mixes her post-industrial themes with an up to date dance vibe.
It was an underwhelming start to Lonelady’s set – there was barely a hello, and it felt like something was missing. This is a different setup to when Julie was touring her debut, where she was a lone lady on stage. This time round she was still a lone lady but had three male musicians surrounding her; a live drummer with a drum machine, someone on keyboards and bass with a drum machine, and someone on synths and effect also with a drum machine. Her timid stage presence didn’t help with the floundering atmosphere, and from where I was stood a lot of people where nattering amongst themselves. Although near to the stage, her devoted fans were dancing all the way through the set. It soon became apparent that the band were missing a permanent bassist to keep an ongoing bassline, and without one the sound felt really empty.
Midway through the set, things did seemed to kick in. The driving bassline on ‘I Can See (Landscapes)’ demanded everyone’s attention – its punky feel with scatty guitar and Julie’s perfectly matched vocals added some much needed attitude into the performance. From then on, the bassist carried on playing the bass which did wonders for the remainder of the set. You can definitely hear Julie’s love for Joy Division with songs like ‘Into The Cave’ as the bass and vocals mirror the post-punk stylings. With the aid of the projected visuals I was starting to understand the industrial themes of Hinterland’s material, something I struggled to realise when listening to the album. ‘Groove It Out’ got the best reaction (mainly due to the radio play it has been getting) and had nearly everyone nodding their heads or busting a groove to some extent. Lonelady finished with the final song on Hinterland, ‘Mortor Remembers You’ – a strong end to what was a mostly disappointing show, showcasing Julie futuristic post-punk.
It was as if the post-punk stylings that her music was based around didn’t suit the melancholic ideas the genre entails, as things felt too positive and happy. After hearing great things about her BBC 6music Festival performance, I had envisioned her post-punk electro pop mix would have been an overriding success live, but for the most of it I was struggling to pick out the positives. There is no doubt Lonelady is an intriguing artist and you can definitely see her ability by the quality of her latest album, but live there were portions that didn’t quite work which made it a rather unmemorable show.
Iain Lauder