Touring to promote their recently released album, Love Lines, LP did not hold anything back when they took the stage at Paramount Theater. LP has an unsuspecting rock element, with their live presentation dialing it way up compared to studio recordings. This, however, may have worked against them this time. Whether it was the acoustics of the venue, which typically houses theatrical and orchestral performances, the sound engineer, who LP mentioned was overcoming a cold, or the fact that it was still early on in the tour, LP’s set was muddy and at times overbearing. LP has an incredible vocal range and capacity for belting, especially going into the upper register, but unfortunately it was often too difficult to distinguish the vocals from the rest of the instruments blasting through the speakers.
The slower, softer songs allowed for breaks in the set when LP’s vocal (and whistling) talents could be properly highlighted. Examples include “One Like You,” “Big Time,” and none other than “Lost On You,” their most listened to song with nearly 740 million streams on Spotify. The song that should have been the key moment of the night, “Love Lines,” unfortunately fell victim to the sound issues, rendering the big build up and emotional release in the bridge and final chorus rather anticlimactic. At the very least, the show was visually stunning, and the chemistry between LP and touring guitarist Andrew Berkeley Martin (Palaye Royale, Ashton Irwin) spread an infectious energy that the crowd couldn’t seem to get enough of.
LP is a musician that seems to be in their own field–no other artist comes to mind that matches in style and skill level–and this unique sound has earned them a huge international fanbase. While they sell out stadiums in Europe and South America, the United States crowd is lagging behind. Even though sound production could be improved upon, it would be worth it to experience an LP concert in a more personal setting before they expand into larger venues in the United States. The remaining shows of the Love Lines Tour continue until the end of the month, covering cities in the Northeast and Southwest, and tickets are available here for purchase.
