Desperate Journalist at Oslo Hackney on 20 April 2018 was a terrific show. The venue is the perfect size and vibe for a band of this size and I reckon about 130 people were there.
Musically, the band were excellent with Jo Bevan’s swooping vocal ululations meshing with her partner Rob Hardy’s old-fashioned actual guitar playing, not just thrumming. And I’m a sucker for post-Joy Division drum and bass riffs and DJ dole them out in spades.
One word of advice though, the personal relationship axis in the band are all too evident in stage. You could count the eye-contact on stage between certain members on the useable fingers on actor Bill Nighy’s right hand.
As they grow and improve, I hope Desperate Journalist will realise that their wonderful songwriting and performances will only be enhanced by giving the audience a few glimpses of a deeper mutual understand and esprit de corps that a band this good should display.
Lucy Bedroque
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