Zuzu, Hannah's Little Sister: Jacaranda Phase One, Liverpool

Zuzu

As Zuzu made a triumphant return to her hometown with a shedload of perfect pop, Getintothis’ Paul Fitzgerald went in search of some truth.

Dark days. We find ourselves trapped.

Held in a web of lies, untruths and misinformation, where we’re expected – almost commanded – to accept that truth no longer matters. And it’s certainly true that we struggle to swim against the tide to find truth.

Our truth. They try to hide what we seek.

The truth is in unison, in commonality, collaboration and community. It’s in art, words and music.

And it’s held in a moment of shared experience. For the crowd at Phase One to witness Zuzu’s return to Liverpool, it was a night of those moments, that shared experience.

The music is our truth, and we came together to celebrate the fact. It was a truly joyous occasion, packed with positivity and good energy. This is our truth.

Zuzu, one of our favourite Evertonians (Pat Nevin and Bernie Connor being the other two), took us through a storming set of breezy, hook-laden perfect pop. Each song felt like a classic.

Her writing is just so familiar, open and welcoming. She writes the kind of songs that you feel could have been written just for you. They’re honest, smart and ridiculously entertaining.

A celebration of the glory of a great chorus, they run at you, demanding attention. The lyrics, barbed and built on a healthy swagger-full of attitude, dropped over an easy, familiar melody. She comes from the land of The Zutons, The Coral, The La’s, and in time her place in that history as a classic act from our city will be assured.

Languid pop rocker Money Back was a real highlight, that catchy-as-fuck singalong chorus uniting the crowd in their moment, that shared experience, swaying and smiling in support throughout. All Good, aches with introspective and reflective Courtney Barnett style pathos, before launching into another huge chorus, forcefully powered by Zuzu’s incredible band.

Get Off saw more hands in the air, another joyous singalong moment, another perfect chorus, bouncing, urgent and just a little angry.

“It’s taken me a long time to get this many people to give a fuck about me” she says. True, she’s been honing her craft for a while now. People notice.

Perhaps a lot more than she realises. They give a fuck. The queue for selfies at the merch table made that perfectly clear. It surely can’t be long until a bigger stage sees her attracting swathes more people who’ll give a fuck.

This was a real moment, a moment of truth, where the connection was almost tangible. What a great show.

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Hannah’s Little Sister opened the night up with a set packed full of wonderfully odd and decidedly nuts pop stormers. Theirs is a unique world, staggering through styles, genres and time signatures with breathtaking energy. Often in the same song.

Gloriously mad, they almost celebrate the sheer oddity of it all, and looking at them, it’s hard to imagine they’ve ever been happier than when they’re playing together.

We need more of this. More truth, more often. That’s just what we need.

Images by Getintothis’ Lauren Cowdall