LIVE REVIEW: Picture Parlour, Matt-Felix @ Cluny 2, Newcastle (29.09.25)

Image by Dominic Stephenson

There was a sense of grandiose that overshadowed the humble surroundings of Cluny 2, especially when I laid eyes upon a good few grand worth of guitars in a room with a capacity of less than 200 people. Opening for Picture Parlour on this segment of their maiden headline tour was singer-songwriter Matt-Felix, a figure who could’ve been one of Liam Gallagher’s offspring if they’d been cast in Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn. Appearances aside, this was a ridiculously tight serving from a young man who’s clearly been proficiently trained, with overtones of 70s baroque pop and the waltzing of Alex Turner. While the performance felt choreographed and like an antithesis to the DIY music often shared on this stage, with genuine golden nuggets like the towering Change, this is an artist who’s undoubtedly on course for wider recognition.

The bulging Monday night crowd mirrored Picture Parlour’s rise to prominence, after shimmering debut single Norwegian Wood catapulted the fivepiece into the limelight. Torrential lighting from the off projected a band destined for taller stages, as they first became airborne with Cielo Drive and the seesawing rumble of Who’s There To Love Without You?. These glam-cloaked numbers are spearheaded by the swaggering voice of vocalist Katherine Parlour and they twist nostalgic rock and roll with nuanced shades of neo-psychedelia, the skulking groove of the so far unreleased 24 Hr Open echoing 2013-era Arctic Monkeys. One shortcoming is there isn’t a great deal of sonic diversity amongst their catalogue, although they’ve diverted the narrative on addictive new tune Talk About It and they capped off with the gravitational pull of their aforementioned anthem. Picture Parlour exude a growing radiance and with their debut headline tour ticked off and debut album, The Parlour, incoming, it feels like they’re on the cusp of reaching a grander scale.