LIVE REVIEW: Mothica @ O2 Academy Islington, London
Having just performed a comeback show of sorts at Download Festival two days ago, MOTHICA brings her alt pop to her first headline show back after a stint in rehab, something she’s been open about not just tonight or over the weekend but at the time too. That’s part of her appeal to many; her songs are confessional and illustrate her trials and tribulations, as is MOTHICA herself, creating a bridge between her and fans.
This is a much more intimate setting than the Download Festival set, but a larger room than her last headline show here, showing that for her fans, absence certainly does make the heart grow fonder. Opening the evening first is NXDIA, whose indie-pop and pop rock meeting of minds gets a warm welcome. There seems to be a couple of technical glitches early on with instruments cutting out or suddenly being too loud but it’s smoothed out easily enough, not distracting from what’s a fun and energetic half hour. They’re clearly stoked to be here, performing with a palpable enthusiasm that sweeps up the crowd along with her. While they’re quite a different proposition to MOTHICA, there’s clear crossover between fanbases, with NXDIA offering more rock-oriented songs to get the energy up to start the night.
Rating: 8/10
MOTHICA opens her set with Kissing Death’s intro into a huge rendition of Toxins, that she recently gave a heavy makeover, immediately capturing the crowd and eliciting huge cheers. “I’m gonna take you all the way out to the Wild West,” she grins before Mirage, a country twang entering the mix and her long white dress echoing that Wild West period too. The crowd are deafening as they sing back Buzzkill, more than a few people heading down closer to the front to get more involved. “I’ve not played most of these songs since the last tour,” she admits early on, even with Download intervening (though her remix of BMTH’s Can You Feel My Heart naturally crops up).
Even then, there’s not the smallest sign of the intervening time or events between the tours other than when MOTHICA talks candidly of them. She’s revelling in being back onstage at a headline show, as are her fans as they hang off every word and note. Afterlife pulsates through the room, while Vices II leans more into heavier guitar work and cascading drums while retaining the original’s towering hook. We’re also treated to a snippet of new material from the album she confirms is written, before surprising with thundering alt metal, significantly heavier than her other recorded output, but again with that MOTHICA twist fans have come to love. She spends a moment before Forever Fifteen baring her soul once more, acknowledging her struggles with mental health throughout her life before turning it around and demanding that life is for flourishing and not suffering.
It’s poignant and her voice audibly cracks as she speaks. For all the pain and emotional bloodletting, at the core of MOTHICA’s music is resilience and a desire to make it through the hard times for something better. That turns tonight into something wondrous, the energy flowing between crowd and stage into something that clearly means a great deal to all. Welcome back, MOTHICA.
Rating: 10/10
Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in London from Anne Pfalzgraf here:
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