THE WITCH HUNT’s Louisa Osborn, Chris Mulligan and Ste Anderson have been gathering buzz and now they’re geared up and ready to smash the Uni Stylus stage as part of LIVE AT LEEDS 2014. It’s the biggest stage I’ve seen them on and I’m in no doubt that they are going to fill it out nicely.
As we arrive, the venue is already busy – word has clearly been going around about this band who can deliver haunting ballads just as well as the blasting dark angry tracks. They’re a band on a mission and this really comes across today.
As the set moves on, the lead singer becomes gradually more possessed and in the moment. Louisa is really evolving her stage persona, and it’s especially visible when she lets go of the guitar – this is when she can let loose and command the venue.
She comes forward to the front of the stage, almost egging the crowd on with her pitch-perfect Florence Welch-esque ‘in your face, Leeds’ vocals. This is a confident performance – you can practically see the steam coming off the bandmates as they dig in and give it their all.
They tear up the stage, and by the time we get to Army Man, Louisa’s words are searing into the memories of all of us. She climbs onto the drum stand, and belts out the lyrics as Ste keeps his head well down while pounding the skins. Chris dutifully rips into his guitar. The climax is intense and marks The Witch Hunt down as a very serious contender in the new music industry.
