Keeley Connolly @ The Rosemount, Perth - 20-07-2017

Perth City may very well be ten years behind the rest of the nation in many regards, but the underground local music scene is definitely not one them. The sweet and spritely Keeley Connolly is one such up-and-comings emerging in the local Perth music scene, where there is no shortage of talent and originality is very much in line with the current zeitgeist.
 
Playing a show at the Rosemount Hotel off the back of her debut EP – “The Acoustic EP” – she opened up the night in front of a keen crowd and delivered a solo set showcasing her debut tracks. Even with her small frame and a single guitar spotlighted on the generous Rosemount stage, Keeley Connolly carried her audience with floaty ease with her soft, angelic voice accompanied by delicate but purposefully crafted waves of acoustic guitar. No pedals, no FX, no gimmicks – just stripped back, raw talent.
 
Connolly has self-engineered and self-produced her debut EP release, in which she beautifully synchronises Indie-Folk sounds with sweet Pop melodies. The young female artist packs a lot of emotion into something so seemingly effortless (just as you’d expect from an acoustic release) with tracks like “Song for Roy” – a moving track inspired by a poem written by her aunt about Connolly’s late-Uncle. It’s an easy highlight, and illustrates the craft behind her modest complexity, composition and song-writing capability.
 
If this sounds like your cup of tea, check it out. Or even if it’s not your usual choice of genre, check it out anyway and stretch your palate – whether it’s the lyrical construction, the dreamy voice, or her humble and grounded ambience, there’ll be something you’ll appreciate about up-and-coming artist, Keeley Connolly. The WA-born muso will be playing more live shows around Perth over the coming months, after which she’ll be back in the studio for the EP sequel. If the “Acoustic” version is anything to go by, we should expect something exceptional to follow... and something tells me we won’t be disappointed.
 
Review // Olivia Szulgowski
Photography // Peter Heathcote, Rhythmic Photography