Live Review: Pizzagirl @ The Social, London, 12th June

Quick glimpse into the 1980's soundtracked inner world of funnyman and auteur Pizzagirl.

Aintree's Liam Brown, aka Pizzagirl, released a glittering 6 track EP An Extended Play back in April via Heist or Hit. Since then he's been dropping weekly videos for the 6 tracks and playing a few shows. After recently gaining attention from BBC Radio 1's Huw Stephens, Pizzagirl was subsequently put on the roster for Stephens' new music showcase 'Huw Stephens Presents' at The Social, which happened to be last night. Arriving on The Social's tiny stage with a bursting polka-dot suitcase, just a man with a guitar and a laptop, bedecked in a Miami Vice pastel and short combo, Pizzagirl intrigues from the off. With tangible nervous energy and frantic movements on his guitar, out pours a wash of spiralling sound from nowhere and everywhere at once. Catchy pop hooks abound and just enough funk to make your hips shake. Songs intersperse with classic Scouse humour and interplay with the crowd that has the audience laughing and hanging off his words, especially when he relays that he speaks both fluent "Margherita and Pepperoni." Pizzagirl grabs the attention and never lets it slip throughout. His 80s image is supported with a soundscape that would fit well on a soundtrack from the time, or Donnie Darko at the least. With cyclical vocal chanting phrases like Win Butler, and a strong Depeche Mode influence running throughout, Pizzagirl's songs spiral like the 'Seabirds' he describes. Uplifting and spacious, the sense is that more people in his setup would spoil the unique freshness of what he has created, something that genuinely leaves you wanting more of it by the end. Closing with a fitting cover of 'Nightcall' by Kavinski from the Drive soundtrack, the smiles on the faces of the crowd will remain for some time yet.