Live Review: Libby Steel gives us loud, explosive pop with 'PEOPLE'
In 2017, not enough people are having fun. Understandable - it seems like the very framework of a basic functioning society is crumbling around us. With that being said, we need artists like LIBBY STEEL, and her debut single 'PEOPLE', more than ever.
'PEOPLE' is one of those songs that, on first listen, you get that painful craving to see it live. From those opening hand claps, your foot starts tapping. By the time the keys waltz their way into your ears, your head is bopping. And, by the time that soulful and unforgettable voice says "string me up now, watch me go / We're all here for the puppet show", your body is up and moving. Your eyes look adoringly on as Libby Steel prances around, until you realise it's exactly that prancing that she's singing about.
A lot is happening on 'PEOPLE.' Libby Steel's voice is pained and booming, but she keeps singing. Trumpets, keys, drums and an infectious guitar riff dance around each other without ever becoming too overpowering. Steel's vocals keep rolling with the punches, and it turns out that's just how she deals with life's anxieties - by singing and dancing. "They watch while I bleed," she sings bleakly, positioning herself as a puppet just here for our enjoyment. She's offering a very real and very grim view into life of an entertainer - no matter what pain you're feeling, the show must go on.
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'PEOPLE' is as about as nuanced and as meta as a debut single is going to get, but Libby Steel delivers it with effortless charm. It's a song about dancing through the hurt that will make you, well, dance through the hurt. The skin deep perception of an audience to an artist is harmful and problematic in a plethora of ways. But until everyone realises that, Libby Steel will just keep dancing.
Words by JACKSON LANGFORD
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