Review and photography by Robert Barrett

Pierce Brosnon, back massages and Robbie Williams. Her’s sold out gig at the Sunflower Lounge somehow brought them seamlessly together for a joyous set, that truly kicked away the winter blues.

The festivities kicked off with local lads Flamingo Flame. The group were an excellent warm up choice for Her’s. The soft warm guitar lead and acoustic mid section captured the rooms attention. “Her’s are one of my favourite new bands” praised the lead singer Greg, and it made sense, both acts were cut from the same silky smooth cloth and put the growing crowd into a blissed out state, perfect for the main act.

It wasn’t long before the dream pop duo emerged from the back of the room with a cardboard cut out of honorary member Pierce Brosnan in hand. They launched straight into ‘Marcel’ and from the first guitar line the audience were in the palm of their hand.

A mixture of dreamy songs from recent album ‘Invitation To Her’s’ and EP ‘Songs of Her’s’ had people singing and dancing without a care in the world. The packed intimate setting had the perfect atmosphere for both the fast paced songs and the slower ballads. A highlight of which was ‘You Don’t Know This Guy’ during which Bassist Audun lovingly massaged Stephen in an act of pure bromance.

“Last time we were here some girls gave us KFC after the show” mentioned Audun, elated screams from the same girls, proving just how strong the following is growing for the band. The silky dream pop reminiscent of Ariel Pink and Mac Demarco seems to be a popular choice at the moment, but it’s hard to see any other English act doing it better currently.

Both Stephen and Audun are a joy to watch, making the most of the small stage. The energy is contagious, and gave songs such as ‘Low Beam’ and ‘Love On The Line’ an extra bite when played live.

After a quick cover of Robbie Williams ‘She’s The One’, and fan favourite ‘Harvey’, the band headed backstage. Well, when I say backstage I mean they hid at the side behind an amp. “We’ve just been hanging out in our massive backstage room” they joked whilst returning to stage for ‘Under Wraps’ and ‘Speed Racer’.

Even when the hour and a half set was finished, the crowd were still chanting for more. With the fanatic fan base they have built up already, it’s hard to see them playing such small venues for much longer. Humour, bromance, killer tunes, former 007s, Her’s have it all.

(The original version of this article was first published on Gigjunkies http://www.gigjunkies.com/band-reviews/hers-flamingo-flame-at-the-sunflower-lounge-birmingham-uk-1st-february-2019/)