Last night at Jive, Olympia delivered a highly satisfying taste of the old and the new on her ‘Star City’ tour of the country.

The evening kicked off with local act Tales (fresh from their re-branding from The Winter Gypsy), whose bright and blissful brand of indie folk created a cosy atmosphere well suited to the venue. Eilish Gilligan followed up with polished, sparkly synth-laden sounds in an expressive and engaging performance.

Olympia writes a great song and, with a first rate live show, successfully translates the intricacies of her constructions to the stage. Her four piece band are an excellent unit, creating affecting dynamics across the setlist, all skilfully mixed through the Jive PA.

Delving straight into the familiar territory of songs form 2016’s excellent Self Talk, Olympia kicked off with ‘Somewhere to Disappear’, followed quickly by the album’s title track and ‘Tourists’. Then half way through the show, we were treated to the new material. If last night’s selection is anything to go by, the artist’s follow up album promises to be something quite special, with a slightly harder edge and a fresh, stirring energy built on top of the art-pop sensibilities of the debut effort.

Seminal single ‘Smoke Signals’ then drew a strong reaction from the audience before returning to the newer material, with upcoming single ‘Shoot To Forget’ making quite an impression and current earworm ‘Star City’ a great way to close out the main set.

In between songs, Olympia was disarming and genuine, interacting personably with the audience and conveying a sincere appreciation that people had come out to see her perform.

The evening was a reminder of Olympia’s real talent as a musician and song-writer. Keep an ear out for her as-yet-untitled follow-up album on the horizon and make sure you catch her next time she tours.

Reviewed by Matthew Trainor

Pictures by Tessa Manning