Gig review: Georgia at Brudenell Social Community Room, Leeds

It’s a rhetorical question given the Brudenell has temporarily been transformed into a cross between a Chicago house party and late 80s Hacienda.

As a neon hexagon flashes at the back of the stage and the audience ecstatically waves its hands in the air, the musician can relax knowing she’s achieved her goal of creating a ‘paean to the transcendental power of dance.’

It’s an ambition that’s already seen the daughter of Leftfield co-founder Neil Barnes A-listed by Radio 1 and shortlisted for the BBC’s Sound of 2020, and it’s surely only a matter of time before she takes the euphoric, late-night dance of recently released second album Seeking Thrills to the masses.

Playing solo behind a deck of synths, drum pads and cymbals, there’s a superficial similarity to Robyn’s intelligent electro-pop on tracks such as ‘About Work The Dancefloor’ and ’24 Hours’. Yet while they share the 80s synth obsession of ‘Dancing On My Own’, at heart she has more in common with house music.

Having begun her career as a drummer, working with the like of Kate Tempest, her material is rooted by pulsating electronic beats. ‘Started Out’, which takes the rolling bassline of Fingers, Inc.’s ‘Mystery Of Love’, updates the classic house track with a plea to ‘be wicked and bold now.’ The pop honed ‘Ray Guns’, meanwhile, dips into the dub reggae of M.I.A. to become one of the night’s highlights.

The set temporarily loses momentum when she plays wistful ballad ‘Honey Dripping Sky’ but by the time she encores with Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ she has the audience eager for more thrills.