If Becca Harvey, better known as girlpuppy, traffics in melancholy, then last night at London’s Lower Third, she transformed that emotion into something incandescent. Under the dim lights of the intimate Soho venue, she delivered a set steeped in vulnerability, nuance, and quiet power — a show that made heartbreak feel communal and hope feel within reach.
The gig marked one of the first European dates in support of her 2025 sophomore album, Sweetness — a lush, emotionally expansive record that sees Harvey stretching her sonic range without losing the diaristic honesty that defined her early work. The Lower Third, with its subterranean hum and low ceiling, offered a perfect crucible for the intimacy of her songs. As the crowd pressed closer with each track, the space felt less like a gig venue and more like a friend’s living room — albeit one glowing with soft pink lighting and filled with a reverent silence between songs.
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girlpuppy @ The Lower Third (Kalpesh Patel)
Arriving to the pre-recorded lush sounds Sweetness opener Intro, Harvey opened with I Just Do!, her voice breathy yet unwavering. The song immediately set a tone of restraint and introspection while blooming from gentle verse to stomping chorus. Her band, subtle and deliberate, framed her vocals with soft arpeggios and brushed percussion. The audience leaned in — not just metaphorically, but physically. In a space this small, every note felt personal.
There was little separation between Harvey and her audience. With only a smattering of pre-recorded sounds from recorded renditions of the tracks and no bombast, the songs were just performed live with her four-piece band and the kind of emotional conviction that makes the air feel thicker. Storming Champ and the swelling, hook-laden In My Eyes followed, each showcasing Harvey’s ability to articulate emotional paralysis without ever tipping into melodrama. Her lyrics don’t scream; they sigh.
While Sweetness dominated the set — with memorable renditions of Since April, Beaches, I Think I Did, and Windows — the 26-year-old made room for fan favourites from her earlier releases. 2022’s When I’m Alone was represented by the aching Wish and the emotionally layered Teenage Dream, performed in the encore with trembling intensity. It’s not a cover, as some first-time listeners might assume, but an original: one of Harvey’s most personal songs, soaked in regret and soft defiance.
“I love London so much, this is my second show here.” Harvey gushes. “Was anyone at the first show?” she continues to cheers from the crowd. “Well, welcome back!” she greets before the troupe dive into down-tempo Sweetness tune Windows.
From her 2021 EP Swan, she unearthed the pedal steel-infused Surprise Me and As Much As I Can, reminding the crowd how fully formed her voice has been from the very start while weaving in her southern USA roots, “I’m from Atlanta, Georgia, I’m very far from home” she offers before the former. These songs, older but not outgrown, were delivered with the same gravity as her newer work — proof that nothing in her catalogue feels disposable or slight. And then there was I Miss When I Smelled Like You — a standalone single released between albums that remains one of her most devastating compositions. Live, it was a moment of pure stillness. Her voice hovered in the room like perfume on a borrowed sweater: soft, nostalgic, impossible to hold on to.
Throughout the night, the Atlanta, Georgia native kept stage banter to a minimum — shy smiles, a few laughs, a handful of soft-spoken thank yous. But the minimalism only amplified the intimacy. girlpuppy doesn’t need to posture or perform extroversion. Her songs do the talking, and the crowd — hanging on every lyric — seemed grateful for the honesty.
The final moments of the show felt like a gentle goodbye between old friends. After a short pause, she returned for two more songs after shouts of “encore, encore” from the crowd by way of Teenage Dream and As Much As I Can. No theatrics. No big finish. Just the same quiet magnetism that had guided the set from the start. “Leave me, leave me, leave me” we all sing on repeat through the former as the lush tones wash over us.
In a music landscape often dominated by spectacle, girlpuppy offers something different: radical softness. Her work isn’t about high drama, but about the small aches that stay with you — the kind you don’t even notice until you’re alone at night. And in a packed, hushed room in London, that softness became a shared language. As she continues to tour Sweetness, Harvey is slowly and surely establishing herself as one of the most compelling voices in indie music. She doesn’t just sing about feelings — she invites you to feel them with her. And last night, we did. And as her star rises, it’s clear she’s not chasing trends — she’s quietly carving out a space that’s entirely her own.
Live review & photography of girlpuppy @ The Lower Third, London by Kalpesh Patel on 17th April 2025.
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