Content:
“Welcome to the chaos,” she grins.
Words: Ali Shutler.
Photos: Frances Beach.
“I don’t want you to sing to me; I want you to scream in my face,” grins DYLAN, commanding London’s Hammersmith Apollo. There’s a smirk of anticipation before she launches into ‘Girl Of My Dreams’, but the rowdy chant-a-along is so loud she can’t help but laugh in disbelief. Later, she admits that playing her biggest-ever hometown show is terrifying, but you wouldn’t know it, as she looks entirely comfortable in the spotlight.
Opening act Say Now are slightly more nervy. While DYLAN has already played stadiums and massive festival stages, SayNow only played their first headline show in November and have just a handful of singles to their name. It doesn’t take them long to find their groove, though. The trio pull influence from the pop greats of the 90s and beyond, with flashes of Sugababes, Destiny’s Child and Little Mix throughout tonight’s 25-minute set. Songs tackle shitty exs and toxic relationships, with friendship anthem ‘Better Love’ offering a harmony-led dose of warm empowerment. There’s a soaring cover of Avril Lavigne’s ‘Complicated’ that teases every drop of emotion from the pop-punk classic, while ‘S.I.N.G.L.E.’ is as excitable as they come. When it does click into place, Say Now are pure magic.
DYLAN has always deliberately straddled the worlds of rock and pop, but that marriage has never looked more powerful than tonight. Taking to the stage, she instantly launches into a blistering guitar solo and indulges in some synchronised dance moves with guitarist Rosie Botterill without missing a beat.
From here on out, DYLAN giddily dashes between the extremes. New single ‘The Alibi’ continues her main pop moment that started with ‘Liar Liar’, and both sound absolutely huge, while the likes of ‘You’re Not Harry Styles’ and ‘No Romeo’ deliver huge choruses over snotty guitar. There are covers of Taylor Swift’s folksy ‘Out Of The Woods’ and Sam Smith’s pulsating ‘Unholy’ that see her put her own twist on the smash hits, before ‘Nineteen’ and ‘Blue’ offer unbridled catharsis. “I wasn’t going to do that song because I didn’t feel like that person deserved it to be played, but I guess it’s better to have loved and lost…” explains DYLAN wih a grin. “Plus there’s the royalties to think about.”
With a beefed-up production and no apologies about pulling inspiration from Queen, Guns’N’Roses and Swift, tonight’s gig is a statement of intent from DYLAN as she looks towards that debut album. Two unreleased tracks back up that more ambitious, self-assured attitude as well. ‘Perfect Revenge’ is a country-tinged burst of art-pop, with janky synths undercutting all that polish, while ‘Bad’ is anything but. A hulking rock’n’roll anthem cut with sleek, soulful pop, it sees DYLAN pushing out in every direction. “Welcome to the chaos,” she grins.
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