Live Report: Spider enchants Electric Picnic’s Three Music stage with exquisite pop-rock set

When Tallaght singer-songwriter Spider steps onto the stage, all eyes are drawn to her and her flowy silhouette, her movements almost liquid.

Yet it’s not until the first note comes out of her mouth that her talent hits you in full force, powerhouse of a voice accompanied by only a distorted electric guitar and dynamic drum-lines.

Spider at Electric Picnic 2024. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

With her smooth vocal performance, Spider’s set has an ethereal quality that the artist plays with all throughout, occasionally bringing in the heaviness of spoken lines or hefty chords, but also dancing around relentlessly, fun layered in each of her words, no matter their depth.

Spider hits all the notes of a future great pop-star, with her incredible stage presence, and her brand of sugary-sweet, pop-punky tunes, as best exemplified by her track ‘straight out the oven !’ and its cheeky line “everybody is secretly in love with me”.

Spider at Electric Picnic 2024. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

Her presence is solar, contagious, and when she sings the vengeful ‘Growing Into It‘, that she “wrote about my friend’s shitty ex”, the urge to bang your head angrily alongside her is hard to resist.

The singer’s talent is not diminished when she brings moodier, slower melodies to the table to the table, either, like with ‘Trauma’, and it’s summery, longing guitar lines. Her voice comes in full force, its emotional quality reaching deep in your heart.

Spider is an absolute breath of fresh air in the world of pop-rock – an artist capable of wonderful sonic feats and deeply stirring lyrics, still dedicated to keeping her music fun, unique and invigorating.