Cacophony – Paris Paloma Casts a Spell on Brudenell

On the 28^th of November, Paris Paloma graced Leeds as the ninth and final stop on her UK tour after the release of her new album Cacophony. The album has amassed over 240 million streams on Spotify since its release in late August, with hits including ‘Labour’ and ‘Drywall’as fan favourites. Originally from the Midlands, Paris has gained acclaim for her music since 2020 and now has an impressive 6.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify. The strong themes of sisterhood and feminine rage against a consistently misogynistic society that feature in her songs, have struck a chord with many women across the world.

But onto the show! Newcomer Nadia Kadek stepped in to open the last three shows in place of Luvcat and delivered a mesmerising performance. Gentle and compelling, Nadia took us on a journey of yearning and forgiveness and held the audience in a trance. Although Nadia hasn’t officially released any music yet, make sure to check out her Instagram: @nadia.kadek for performances and demos. And, if you send her a dm, she’ll send you a secret song! My personal favourite song she performed was Green Car – check it out!

Paris kicked off the show with the first song on Cacophony: ‘My Mind(now)’, with the audience smoothly chanting along. Accompanied by George and Jim, on bass guitar, and drums and keys respectively, Paris began casting her spell on the audience. Notable standouts for me were ‘Knitting Song’, ‘Last Woman on Earth’, ‘The Warmth’ and ‘Escape Pod’ (from the perspective of Laika, the first dog sent to space ☹) although the whole album is a joy to listen to.

During a break for her band, Paris sat down with us to play ‘Triassic Love Song’on her acoustic guitar,a song about the famous ‘Triassic Cuddle’, (look it up!) just one of her many songs from clever perspectives. This song also included a ‘call and response’ section, which scratched an itch in my brain perfectly. Furthermore, Paris fits perfectly into the ‘Ancient Gods duo’ of Hozier and Florence + The Machine, so if you’re looking for new music following similar themes exploring divinity and mythology, then I urge you to take a deep dive into Paris’ discography.  

Moving on, Paris’ most popular song ‘Labour’ was played as the encore, and every single person in the room knew the words. It gave me goosebumps. ‘Labour’ discusses the invisible emotional, physical and sexual labour that is forced upon women, especially in relationships and how exhausting it is to carry. Resonating with women all around the world for its calling out of weaponised male incompetence and unfair expectations of women, ‘Labour’ has catapulted Paris into the spotlight, and for good reason.

If we had a daughter,
I’d watch and could not save her

                              —-

It’s not an act of love if you make her
You make me do too much labour

In a similar vein is ‘Last Woman on Earth’, which discusses the important issue of bodily autonomy, focusing especially on how the female body can be mistreated after death at the hands of men. Paris explores choosing ‘the flame over desecration’, and ‘leave me to the beasts and bears, I’d rather that the feast was theirs’, and pleads with us, the listeners, to respect her wishes. It’s an uncomfortable song, but unfortunately a necessary one to tell, especially in our society’s increasingly unstable political climate. But I digress.

The background set was beautifully hand-painted, featuring wolves, bears and forests, and added to the captivating atmosphere of the gig. There was even an exchange box at the merch stand, where audience members could pick up old books and leave little notes and friendship bracelets to swap with other people. The vibes were so welcoming and safe, which unfortunately, can be rare at some gigs – there was even a dancing circle after the set was finished!

So, to round off, I feel incredibly lucky to have been a part of the captivating performance of such a wonderful breakthrough artist, and I thoroughly recommend you see Paris on her next tour! Unfortunately, Leeds was the last stop on the UK stretch of Cacophony, and up next for her is North America in March 2025. But I’m sure she’ll be back soon. Check out Paris’ latest release: ‘The Rider’, written for the new Lord of the Rings animated film: The War of the Rohirrim, which is out in cinemas! And make sure to stream her album Cacophony on Spotify now – happy listening! x

Words by Aeryn Pettifor