Live Review | ALT BLK ERA @ The Underworld Camden
ALT BLK ERA brought their breakout Rave Immortal tour to an electrifying close with a sold-out show at The Underworld
The Underworld might be best known for heavy riffs and scene veterans, but on this particular night, it was packed elbow-to-elbow with a crowd buzzing in anticipation of a duo whose sound, attitude, and vision refuse to sit in a box.
Boundary-breaking sisters ALT BLK ERA wrapped up their Rave Immortal tour, in support of their debut album, with a sweaty, sold-out performance at The Underworld in Camden on Wednesday night.
Since releasing Rave Immortal in January, 21-year-old Nyrobi and 17-year-old Chaya, two sisters from Nottingham, have picked up a MOBO Award, scored a nomination at this year’s Heavy Music Awards, and gained a loyal following that’s clearly growing with every show.
If the album itself feels like a fuse of rock, alt-pop, drum & bass, rap, and whatever else fits the moment, then their live show is where all that truly comes alive.
The set opened with the ferocious ‘Freak Show,’ the standout track from their early EP that set their rapidly-growing musical journey in motion. From there, the duo powered through Rave Immortal in full, performing their debut from start to finish with chaotic energy.
Nyrobi introduced ‘Straight to the Heart’ with a pointed anecdote about being excluded from a close friend’s party due to assumptions around her chronic illness. “This is for anyone who didn’t get invited. You deserved to be there,” she said.
The storytelling surrounding the album is part of what makes it so powerful and the sisters’ candid song explanations throughout the set didn’t slow the momentum down but instead elevated it, making the catharsis they felt through making the album feel communal. One moment the they were capturing tenderness, the next, total chaos.
In ‘Come On Outside’ Nyrobi praised her sister’s fearlessness and thanked her for standing up and protecting her, and said that we should all carry that same courage. “You can be exactly who you are,” she told the crowd. ‘Crashing Parties’ followed with a rawer edge, pushing harder into the rage that fuels much of the album.
‘My Dummer’s Girlfriend’, half diss track, half inside joke, got the loudest clap-along of the night as the crowd shouted: “She’s snorting cocaine every other weekend, she’s probably insane, she’s my drummer’s girlfriend.”
But one of the night’s most unforgettable moments came during ‘Hunt You Down’. “This is not a wall of death,” Nyrobi laughed, as they passed long blue ribbons into the crowd to form a makeshift runway through the pit, inviting their “divas” to strut down the centre as support band BEX helped clear a path.
A line of sweaty men, who had only moments earlier been proudly moshing along, stood holding the ribbons awkwardly, as Nyrobi joined the crowd to lead the way in an image that was both absurd and brilliant. It was moment’s like this that showed despite their youth, there’s a fearlessness to how the sisters handle and command the stage.
They had no issue telling the crowd what to do, or calling out tired-looking moshers; “Don’t groan, you’re not even old,” teased Nyrobi to someone in the front before ordering every to jump, as they launched into ‘Upstairs Neighbours’.
By the time ‘Come Fight Me For It’ hit, the crowd were fully locked in and ready to let loose for ‘Run Rabbit’, which served as the ultimate crowd-pleaser.
While the immense heat of Underworld meant energy way peaking, it was time for the final songs of the night, with ‘Catch Me If You Can’, and the thunderous title track ‘Rave Immortal’ finishing off the main set. Before the encore rounded the night off with early rage-dance anthem ‘I’m Normally Like This’.
What’s clear is that ALT BLK ERA aren’t afraid of being too loud, too weird, too much. Like all the best up and coming acts, they’re carving out space not just for themselves but for anyone who’s ever felt left out, misjudged, or told to tone it down.