IN REVIEW: PRETTY GIRL - THE PEOPLES PRINCESS
It’s Friday. The Brightside is sold out for the Brisbane leg of Naarm local Pretty Girl’s Aussie tour. She’s supported by the beautiful Xiemma, industry juggernaut Shelley (seriously, she does everything), and up-and-coming heavyweight on the Brissy rave scene, Personal Growth.
Hot off the back of her very own Boiler Room set, and having just played support for Fred Again’s Melbourne show, Pretty Girl elicits girl’s bathroom energy in everyone. The vibe is overwhelmingly supportive - I squeeze through the packed crowd holding two film cameras, and the girlies make way. I’m surrounded by servo sunnies, an abundance of love, and a distinctly Aussie rave aesthetic.
Pulled together by Brisbane’s resident rave coordinators, Cyber, there’s a hazy smoke arch outlined in neons, the DJ decks are softly illuminated from behind, and the production design is surprisingly good for a space that’s usually home to indie rock performances. Cyber draws a lot of its ethos and inspiration from European rave culture, and crowd experience is at the heart of everything they do. It’s a refreshing take in Brisbane - I’m told that if I have to ask to take a photo, then don’t take it; they want real, they want raw, they want the crowd having a good time, unaware that there might be a camera pointing at them, capturing them in their ecstasy. I break the rule only twice, but it’s not hard to get the results I wanted: the room is electric, euphoric, completely entranced - and perhaps that’s just the Pretty Girl effect.
The front row is 70% men under 21 - one of them (who doesn’t stop smiling the entire set) turns around to announce “best $35 of my life”. He dances uninhibited, he hugs his friends, he is unproblematically having the time of his life; the same can’t be said for a bro on the other side of the stage, grabbing the security’s arms, trying to convince him to have a boogie. He is promptly kicked out.
Up on stage, Pretty Girl feels like a friend. She is undeniably personable as an artist, and an artist she is, in every sense of the word. Her set is magical - she weaves euphoric melodies over addictive bass lines, and absolutely ices the cake with her dreamy live vocals. It reminds us that dance music isn’t exclusively mediocre men in too-small beanies flicking their wrists: there is an art to it, there is craft, and when it’s executed as well as it is by Pretty Girl, it’s absolutely soul-enriching.
We can tell that this is someone who’s deeply connected to the music she makes. It’s perhaps why so much of her fan base are young men - the intersection of dance music, emotional melodies, and relatable lyrics provide a safe space for feeling, in a genre that is often drenched in drug culture and escapism. She’s the people’s princess, the perfect release.
There’s nobody doing it quite like Pretty Girl on the Australian dance music scene, and when you see her perform live, it’s pretty obvious why. Catch her running a packed UK/EU tour over June/July - even more reason to book that Euro summer trip.
FIND PRETTY GIRLS MUSIC HERE
INSTAGRAM @PGPRETTYGRL
