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Biig Piig review – charismatic alt-popper struggles to find her rhythm
After releasing her long-awaited debut, the Irish artist’s committed performance is better suited to swaggering dance tracks than more chilled-out numbers
Photograph: Martin Grimes/Getty ImagesAcross that prolific, seven-year discography, Biig Piig has two modes: chilled-out, atmospheric songs influenced by trip-hop, R&B and jazz, and club-ready dance tracks with strobing synth and drum’n’bass drops. Producer Mac Wetha’s warm-up set was high BPM bangers only, but Smyth takes the stage to thrumming, ambient sounds and spends the first 30 minutes of her own show trying to add unnecessary muscle to her quieter material. Her band – a bassist/saxophonist and drummer – add interesting detail to some of those songs; moody Roses and Gold gets a great sax solo, and early track Perdida ’s introspective chorus – “I just wanna lay here, smoke my cig and drink my wine” – wins a gentle singalong.
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