Hockeysmith play debut headline show at The Waiting Room, London

The story of two sisters decamping to the Cornish wilderness to make music in caravans and stables is one of the most intriguing tales to come out of the blogosphere in months. Annie and Georgie Hockeysmith, who were, coincidentally, promising hockey players in their youth, have occasioned a fanbase entirely addicted to their dark electronic, dronegaze sentiments. This was no better confirmed than by their sold-out debut headline show at The Waiting Room last night.

Following just a handful of word-of-mouth ‘Hockey Nights’ and the odd support slot with bands like Oxford’s Glass Animals, it was a delight to see the girls finally head-up their own space. Lead vocalist Annie was like Grimes behind her synth kit from the get-go, hopping about like a toddler on sugar as her sister Georgie slunk long-haired over her guitar. The first two songs, “Now I Want To” and “Let’s Bang”, took longer than expected to warm up the crowd, but it was the fleeting, dreamlike state of “Meanwhile”, armed with Georgie’s beautiful acoustic picks, that marked a small change in the set.

As is frequent with new material live, it was a little hard to get a grip on “Frown”, albeit performed with even more rigour than the previous songs. But it was set closer, “But Blood”, that took the night up a whole new notch. Acid-house sub-bass, electronic multi-layers, grunge guitars, and the girls’ brooding harmonies made for a mesmerising watch; if only to imbue a sense of longing at the close.

A short-but-sweet headline set and, in truth, one to only tease us for the better.

Setlist
Now I Want To
Let’s Bang
Meanwhile
Frown
But Blood