Live Review: The Staves - Arts Club, Liverpool 24/05/2024
The Staves serenade Liverpool with a stunning set at Liverpool Arts Club.
Following the release of their new album, "All Now," the sibling-duo of Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor delivered a euphoric night of folk-rock to the sold-out room.
Opening the show was support Anna B Savage. Beginning her set accompanied with her acoustic guitar, Anna’s incredibly introspective and emotionally charged songwriting was in full flow. Mid-set she switched to using tracks - including the synth-laden ‘in|Flux’ - showcasing the depth in her musicality - and offering a fresh, fully produced performance that completely encapsulated the Arts Club crowd. A truly invigorating opening act.
Next up, The Staves. They opened the show with the title track from their last record ‘All Now’. A BBC 6 Music staple, the beautiful growing synth-based arrangement blossomed on stage - with the sisters' signature vocal harmonies soaring perfectly. The crescendo of the track is the euphoric outro “Have a happy new year” - with an early sing-along moment for the scouse crowd. The perfect start to the show.
The band followed up with another track from the new record ‘I Don’t Say It, But I Feel It’. The guitar driven anthem featured some lush piano riffs and solo moments. As always the Staveley-Taylor sisters' vocal harmonies were on point. This track is like English folk The War On Drugs - a stadium ready rock banger.
Humorously dedicating the track ‘The Echo’ to the city of Liverpool (newspaper banter on point), The Staves powered through a set of emotionally-charged and affectionately constructed tracks - including the lovely ‘I’ll Never Leave You Alone’ - with each person in the audience hanging on every beautifully harmonised word. ‘Good Woman’ was a particular highlight for me. An incredibly poignant and exquisite track taken from their 2021 record of the same name.
The encore was something else also. ‘Mexico’ - a song written in Liverpool whilst at uni - highlights the soaring blood-harmony of the sisters, there’s nothing quite like it. Whereas ‘Teeth White’ is a country-tinged rock banger live. These two older tracks highlight the power of The Staves songwriting and how well these successful intimate records come across in the live setting - with the energy of a full-band.
Despite missing their third counterpart, The Staves are still a dynamic live act, with pin-point harmony precision and a flawless set of supremely constructed songs.
Words by Euan Blackman
