Words and pictures by Chris Taylor.
It’s a Tuesday night, Saints are playing at home, the roads are gridlocked, there’s no parking – and the Joiners is still full. As usual, a round of applause for the Southampton music scene (28/4/26).
Luckily it’s an 8pm start, so we make it through traffic chaos just in time for opener, Knife Bride. They’re actually the band I know better of the two: they were an unexpected favourite at a festival a few years ago, while Calva Louise had somehow passed me by.
That said, thanks to the tour announcement Calva Louise quickly ended up on constant rotation in the weeks leading up to the show; clear proof, if you need any, that tours in independent venues are better than streaming algorithms.
Knife Bride fully lived up to my memory. They’re all the fun bits of the EDM/pop-influenced alt rock movement (Vukovi, PVRIS, South Arcade etc.) but with much more metalcore bite. The songs are packed with nasty, mid-scooped guitar riffs ripped straight from technical metalcore, but they never lose the dance energy or pop appeal – I’m sure most alt rock fans would enjoy this, even if they’re not into heavier music.
The bass guitar (not just a backing track here) drives the songs, adding riffs and punch to the programmed synths, rather than competing with them. Along with charismatic stage presences and perfectly executed drums and vocals – in a genre where drums and vocals are key – there aren’t any weak points here.
The most impressive thing about the performance, for me, is the balance that Knife Bride have crafted between the instruments and backing track. Where many bands cut bassists entirely (they often clash sonically with EDM bass) and reduce guitarists to secondary rhythm players behind the pop synth hooks, Knife Bride seem to have carefully considered the dynamics and frequencies to allow their instrumentalists a chance to shine, broadening the scope of their sound dramatically. In pop-coded sections the synths stand front and centre with drums and vocals, while guitars add accents, then the riffs take over and the track blends into a textural background. It’s never jarring or muddy, and this constant push and pull through the set keeps every moment exciting, unpredictable, and vibrant. If, like me, you were a fan of the early ‘20s alt-pop wave but felt many of the bands quickly peaked, you need to check out Knife Bride.
‘Cinematic’ is a term that gets thrown around a lot to describe modern alt rock and metal bands, but none of them embody cinema in quite the same way as Calva Louise.
This London-based international trio has a range of specific skills that are naturally suited to creating something that evokes cinema. Their songwriting style ranges from rock and metalcore, to Spanish guitar, Latin drums, and classical piano, and incorporates a lot of darkly progressive songwriting and haunting vocalisations. You can hear hints of soundtracks from modern action and science fiction, to Westerns, to Italian giallo horror thrillers. Screens come to life with captivating visuals created by singer/guitarist Jess Allanic, flickering like old CRT TVs, while smoke and lights flood the venue from the band’s production setup. Narration segments in breaks call to mind Richard Burton’s iconic performance in War of the Worlds. Even Allanic’s sliding keyboard adds a supernatural ’70s B-movie flair, despite being a totally functional part of the setup.
What’s fascinating is that it always feels like a genuine melding of their musical and personal influences that leads to this result, rather than a specific intention to write songs inspired by ’70s/’80s culture. Traditional, modern, and multimedia skills all seem to effortlessly blend together into the story they’re telling, without relying on gimmicks or lyrical references. The sound is absolutely huge, in a way that hits you like a film orchestra, and still feels real and raw rather than produced technical wizardry. Each members’ stage persona is captivating. And as much as the production and performance feels cinematic, it also took me back to the era of ’00s alt rock/metal ‘showpiece’ bands like Muse – it’s a show that feels like it’s been created for the love of performance art, rather than manufactured out of nostalgia or trends, and deserves to be recorded as a live VHS/DVD rather than as clips on YouTube.
With all that said… I’m still not sure it’s possible to do Calva Louise justice in writing. Next time you get the chance, go, stand close enough to feel the music in your chest, and experience it for yourself. It’s a uniquely liberating experience: if you let yourself be immersed fully in the multi-sensory performance, none of the individual details will matter.
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