Seb-enth Heaven

Photo by Rose Newmark

Words by Rose Newmark

Jump scare! Seb Lowe rocked Heaven in London last Friday. His stage presence, as always, was unmatched, filling up the venue as fans screamed his lyrics back at him. The band opened with an energetic single from earlier this year, Here Come the Aliens, which really got the crowd excited. Seb has come a long way since making songs in his bedroom when he was 17. Then, his songs were ballad-y, acoustic, and nuanced, and now he has gone full angry protest music, a genre much needed in the time we live in. He is widening his audience, but his original fan base is still very much alive, singing along to Seb’s classics from his debut album Half Decent, like iPhone, Freak, and my all-time favourite, Kill Him (He’s a Socialist).

We were also treated to the fan-favourite song Mr and Mrs Human Race, featuring the serene and beautiful violinist Kate Couriel. Seb and Kate’s voices blend together mesmerisingly, and Kate came down to the barrier when singing her verse, really making fans feel involved, and a welcome calm in the storm of Seb’s intense, indie punk-rock numbers. Seb teased an unreleased song, Hitler’s on the TV, a jaunty tune that some dedicated fans even knew the words to.

Adrenaline was pumping during the band’s latest release, I’m Hateful, I’m, Horrible, I Love You, political satire at its finest, and Ode To Britannia, another fan favourite protest anthem that got the audience screaming along.

Finally, before closing the set with Little Caesar, the band went out with a bang with two iconic songs from Seb’s early days: iPhone and Terms & Conditions. I doubt there was a single person in the venue who was not singing along to the catchy yet extremely close to home lyrics, especially when Seb held his mic out to the audience.

Since 2022, when Seb was joined by energetic drummer Joel Goodwin, reserved bassist Rory Carrington, exceptionally talented violinist Kate Couriel, and effortlessly cool guitarist Ben Etches who is sadly no longer with the band (although he is still their producer), Seb Lowe and his band have blown up, their raw and politically charged songs resonating with young music lovers in the UK. The band have also recently announced another headline tour in April, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with before then.

Photos by Rose Newmark