Karen O, Bush Hall

On October 4 and 5, indie rock legend Karen O is set to bring her dazzling live show to London’s Bush Hall.

Karen O rose to prominence in the early ‘00s as the lead singer of  The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a band who were at least as famous for their raucous live performances as they were for how their music actually sounded. However, nearly fifteen years later, The Yeah Yeahs  are still around, and whilst their energy still remains, it has found rather different channels.

Over the past decade, Karen O’s music has increasingly departed from the shouty punk with which The Yeah Yeah Yeahs made their name, whilst retaining its distinctive exuberance. 2009, for instance, saw her recording a soundtrack under the name Karen O and the Kids for director Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. Songs like ‘Love is All’ were charming folk-tinged pop tunes, which shared the same sense of fun as Karen’s earlier, more abrasive output.   

In September, Karen is set to release her first solo album,  Crush Songs, which she has referred to as a "collection of lo-fi, bedroom recordings”, dating back to 2006 and 2007. So far, she’s only released one track from the album, ‘ Rapt ’, a song whose candour and intimacy nods in the direction of lo-fi predecessors like Daniel Johnston, whose work Karen has previously covered.

In support of this release, Karen will play two shows at West London’s Bush Hall. We can’t tell you quite what to expect, but when it comes to Karen O, nobody really can.