There’s a particular kind of magic that only ever hangs in the air at the Barrowlands: the glow of the neon sign and the Glasgow crowd on a crisp, cold November night. Supporting English Teacher’s headline show, The Orielles walk onto the hallowed stage with the kind of quiet confidence that only comes from doing things the long way – years of touring, millions of strange ideas, and a commitment to embracing new transformations.
Comprising of Esmé Dee Hand-Halford (bass and vocals), Sidonie ‘Sid’ Hand-Halford (drums) and Henry Carlyle Wade (guitar and vocals), the trio have built a reputation for reinventing themselves with every release, ‘dying and being reborn between albums,’ over the course of the last decade. What began as a teenage indie-rock group from Halifax has evolved into one of the UK’s most quietly radical guitar acts, a group unafraid to warp their own formulas, pulling apart their sound and stitching it back together to create a rich sound that is unmistakably their own.
Onstage, that evolution is plain to see. The band arrive with the conviction of artists who have spent the past few years pushing into electronic textures, improvisations and meticulous production choices, culminating in projects like Tableau, and their upcoming album ‘Only You Left’. Their performance feels rooted in their current era of experimentation, showcasing an elastic, synth-leaning sound, yet still grounded in the tightness of a trio returning to their core identity. Esmé commands the room with a melodic, anchoring bass, while Sid’s drumming moves between crisp precision and a loose, hypnotic groove. Henry’s guitar, drenched in drones and icy textures cuts across the mix, conveying the musical expansiveness they’ve found in their new material.
Supporting English Teacher didn’t feel like a mere warmup, moreso a meeting of two bands pushing British indie into more curious, adventurous territory. Older tracks land with a familiar bite, but it’s the new sounds that cast the longest shadows. Melodies dissolve and re-form. Shimmering crescendos suggest that the new material exists less as a strict structure, instead conveying more of a landscape to get lost in.
At the Barrowlands, The Orielles play like a band entering another of their creative cycles, one that pulls from the past only to shed it again. If Only You Left marks their next rebirth, then it was in Glasgow that the first spark caught.
For more from the night, watch the Microphone Tax’s conversation with the band right after their Barrowlands set here!
Ben Mailer (he/him) is a writer for the Strathclyde Telegraph, co-host of the Microphone Tax radio show, and 4th year International Business and Finance Student. He mainly writes about music, culture, and interviews, with a particular interest in indie scenes and experimental art.
Outside of writing, he’s usually at gigs, digging through record shops, or working on radio projects.
You can find him on Instagram at @ben.mailer_.
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