The talented Canadian is touring the UK with her new album and was in Oxford on the 20th of March.
This was our first visit to a gig promoted by Divine Schism but most certainly won’t be the last. These Oxford based promoters have a clear love of music and get behind a wide and diverse range of artists. They use a range of venues across the city. The Nest is a space that is designed to be super supportive for women and LGBTQ+ patrons. On entry tonight we were introduced to the safeguarding lead for the event who we were encouraged to speak to if anything made us feel uncomfortable.
Ora Cogan has a full band on tour with her. Five people, with Cogan switching between guitar and violin. At times a sixth appeared to add extra percussion. She leans heavily on her new album Hard Hearted Woman for the set, but why wouldn’t you? It is a haunting, complex listen and is already sounding better than I initially gave it credit for on repeat playing.
They kick off with ‘The Smoke,’ and ‘Honey,’ classic pieces of seventies tinged indie-folk. That haunting quality really comes to the for on her excellent older song ‘Cowgirl.’ There are moments across the set where the drumming noticably employs styles closer to jazz, creating interesting contrasts.
The band would benefit from a distinct violinist. Whilst Cogan does a great job of both her instruments a few tracks miss out on not having their violin parts from the start. Instead there are five or six tracks where Cogan starts on guitar and switches to violin towards the end. It ends up feeling a shame that the instrument is getting relegated to breakdown sections.
‘Bury Me’ and ‘Division’ are both absolute highlights, fantastic recent singles. The encore starts with ‘Katie Cruel.’ This is one of Cogan’s oldest tracks, first being released in 2013, however it got a reworking on her 2023 album Formless.
It was a real pleasure getting to see a band of this quality in such a small venue. Get in on the rest of the tour whilst they are still in the country. They are at Dingwalls in London on April the 3rd.
Ora Cogan played:
- The Smoke
- Honey
- River Rise
- Cowgirl
- Limits
- Holy Hells
- Outgrowing
- Bury Me
- Division
- Feel Life
- Katie Cruel
- Too Late
Ora Cogan is on tour:
March 24 – Edinburgh, UK @ Sneaky Pete’s
March 25 – Glasgow, UK @ Room 2
March 27 – Galway, IE @ Roisin Dubh
March 28 – Dublin, IE @ Whelans
March 29 – Cork, IE @ Wavelength at Cyprus Avenue
April 1 – Sheffield, UK @ Sidney & Matilda
April 2 – Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade
April 3 – London, UK @ Dingwalls
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