(mini)GIG REVIEW: La Sera @ The Lexington, Islington

Last Sunday, the 20th of Feb, I went to the charming Lexington for the first time, to see “Kickball Katy” Goodman for the second time this month. In a round-trip tour of Europe, the Vivian Girls bassist had ended up again in London with her new solo project La Sera. The Lexington, a slightly bigger venue than the tiny, yet delightful Soho venue Madame Jojo’s, proved itself for me as a venue to come back to, with a nice vibe and impeccable sound system, it’s admittedly small stage was a perfect setting for the music of La Sera.

The Lexington improved on the one element of Goodman’s prior gig that left me disappointed, the vocals. Her voice was in this instance audible enough throughout the set and if you’ve listened to the album, you will know how important Goodman’s vocals are to the music. Another great change from that first gig is that for those at both you could visually tell that the band had properly begun to get into their groove together, that they had come together greatly over the last month. As charming as ever, Katy Goodman and her band played through album tracks like “Left This World” and “I Promise You” as well as the brilliant singles “Never Come Around” and “Devil’s Hearts Grow Gold” with aplomb. Even the new songs that were part of the set were tight, solid affairs meaning that I can’t wait to hear fully recorded versions. It was the end of the set however, with a nice rendition of her Shirelles’ cover “Dedicated To The One I Love” before concluding the evening with “Beating Heart”, the opening track from the album and now possibly my favourite. Utilising an ethereal vocal sample for the song’s background chanting. It made the song pretty otherworldly, which was fantastic, an amazing end to such a well-rounded performance from La Sera. And even though I’d seen Goodman & co. twice, in a short space of time, both instances were compelling and enjoyable, an act I’d recommend and definitely seek out again.

Catch La Sera on their upcoming March US tour – dates here.

STREAM: “Devil’s Hearts Grow Gold” – Live @ Room 205
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/8359765"]
WATCH: “Dedicated To The One I Love” Live @ Debaser, Malmö, Sweden
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DSzX-L0rt8&feature=related]