Show Review: Lily Hain, Kiaura Rose, Jesse Detor, Trophy Wife at Arlene’s Grocery NYC.
March 30th, 2025.
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“I was so in the wrong that it’s embarrassing to talk about on stage”
March 31st, 2025
The Sunday Scaries can’t stop us, we didn’t even feel them. And they didn’t stop Lily Hain, Kiaura Rose, Jesse Detor, and Trophy Wife either from lighting up Arlene’s Grocery on Manhattan's Lower East Side. This female fronted bill was a powerhouse of sound that left our whiskers shaking on a cold March evening. We even took our earplugs out to soak it all in. Here’s what we recall:
We clawed our way into the showroom just as Lily Hain was introducing “This song is for all the shitty exes out there”, leading to a bubblegum pop tune not unlike Wet Leg’s Ur Mum. There were lots of love songs, even the one specifically titled im not in love. Shout out to their drummer who was apparently filling in on the shortest of notice with impeccable expertise. With a deep catalog of singles and a 2024 full length, Lily Hain has the sounds for a soon to bloom spring.
Kiaura Rose popped off their first notes like a spinning firework, a sudden explosion of noise and color. The well of musical chops from this five piece was deep. Their drummer played flawless offense and still seemed like they were restraining themselves. Lead guitar solo’d well enough to take the spotlight, and you’d believe it if their bassist had extra fingers. Their frontwoman started one song solo on an acoustic and could feasibly hold her own that way for a whole set, her voice soaring to powerful heights the way Paramore’s Hayley Williams does. They finished with Clocking Out, a song about “hating my job as a waitress”.
There was some kind of magic to Jesse Detor’s sound. Rhythm guitar was slick and often whipped out sliding laser lines between riffs, we called it math-pop. They were theatric, bouncy, funky, nonstop fun. Our favorite was December, a song they claimed they were playing live for the first and only time. Their frontwoman took a moment to preview and give context to most songs before laying them out, which was cool. In fitting fun fashion, they closed with a cover of Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend.
Affirmation time. Repeat after me: “I am the prize”. It’s true. That is, unless you're at a Trophy Wife gig. In that case, you are no longer the prize. They are. They came out with no setlist and by doing so stopped time with their freewheeling energy, playing whatever they felt like in the moment. This included a few deeper cuts like Baby’s Breath and Knife Fight. Our favorite of the night might have been Magnet, where their bassist went full on Mexicola mode on the low-end. They closed with Leech, a slow burner that had the crowd literally leaning in, hanging on to every note.
When it was over we crawled outside to a cold storm, which is when the Sunday Scaries finally settled in. A rat's work is never finished, and it should come as no surprise to hear that wet garbage is harder to parse through than dry garbage. But with the sounds of Lily Hain, Kiaura Rose, Jesse Detor, and Trophy Wife bouncing around in between our boggly eyes, your trash is our treasure. See you around, Rrrat Pack.
| Keywords: | New York City | Arlene's Grocery | Lily Hain | Kiaura Rose | Jesse Detor | Trophy Wife |
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