Clementine Valentine + Constant Smiles | Witloof Bar | Brussels, Belgium | 17 February, 2023
The anticipation of a guaranteed stellar concert is a great feeling. It’s even better though when you end up discovering a fantastic opening act as a bonus. The last time I saw tonight’s band was in the same space at the beginning of 2020, two weeks before the world shut down due to the global pandemic. Since then, things have changed: the Witloof Bar has gotten a facelift, the world shifted to a new reality and what was then named Purple Pilgrims has been changed to Clementine Valentine – the first names of the sisters’ project.
Now back in Brussels in support of their latest album, 2023’s The Coin That Broke The Fountain Floor (Flying Nun), tonight’s show at the recently renovated Witloof Bar at Brussels’ Botanique proves to be an intimate affair served up with magnificent sets from both artists performing this evening.
When we walked into the diminutive space in the below ground region of the Botanique, we were instantly surprised by the renovations that had taken place since our last visit. Gone is the stage at the back of the room, where only those who committed to camping out from the time the doors opened at the front of the stage were able to get a good view. In its place, is a stage in the round, positioned so that the wide brick columns throughout use up less viewing space. A welcome change for sure!
Opening act Constant Smiles (Sacred Bones) has already started their set, and we are gifted with an intimate, paired back set from the music collective helmed by Ben Jones. This evening, Jones is on guitar joined by Nora Knight on percussion. I was instantly struck by the ingratiating, compelling sound coming from the duo on stage, bringing to mind the likes of Low and Slowdive. Despite the intimate setting, the duo create a big sound in a major way that is both evocative and poignant. While project leader Ben typically performs with a fleshed out group with a more synth-forward style, tonight’s offering is chiefly electric guitar and drums. Tonight’s set has served as a jumping board to discover Constant Smiles’ prolific back catalog.
The lights go down, and New Zealand-based headliner Clementine Valentine take the stage. Clementine (vocals, guitar) and Valentine (lead vocals, synth) Nixon are joined by Tim Koh (Gang Gang Dance, Connan Mockasin) on bass. Dressed in matching black linen smocks with white button up shirts, their attire hearkens to the clothing design of Picnic at Hanging Rock. Their eyes are lined in cat’s eyes, while Valentine wears braids in her hair, tied in thin black bows. This spooky psychedelic visual element suits Clementine Valentine’s aesthetic: with their songs steeped in synths, at times operatic vocals and mystical atmospherics.
Starting off with ‘Ancestors Watching’, the crowd is under their spell, following things up with ‘Endless Night’, the first single they released under their first names when they retired the Purple Pilgrims moniker in 2023. The delivery showcases how they have expanded upon their already mighty sound. ‘Endless Night’ is pure dream pop, shoegaze perfection surely to please Cocteau Twins fans.
Swinging into ‘Two Worlds Apart’, then ‘Sensing Me’ from 2019’s Perfumed Earth, the band’s command over the stage – both on and off – is established. Swirling melodies transfix the crowd, and the atmosphere of dreamy, sunny ecstatic days fills the space on this rather dreary Belgian February evening.
Album opener ‘Gatekeeper’ off of their latest album, combined with its follow-up ‘All I See’ are refreshing examples of the new offerings Clementine Valentine are here to bestow. Following with up ‘Selenelion’, also off of Coin, this song is, according to ‘Clementine Valentine in a ‘Star-Crossed Dynamic’ on Final Album Single’ from Rolling Stone: “the word for what occurs during a lunar eclipse when the sun and moon are both observed above the horizon), the song “is based on aspects of countless old folk songs and fables...A star-crossed dynamic. The meeting of a mythological creature and a mortal, always ending in tragedy.” Clearly, everything about this is right in Dark Habits’ core wheelhouse.
Journeying through the psychedelic majesty of ‘All Yesterday’s Flowers’, it’s clear that the sisters Nixon have an intense, magical sibling as well as musical bond. Closing things out with stand-alone track ‘Drink The Juice’, Clementine Valentine prove their unique, and addictive sound as well as visual universe. As it was back in 2020, this kicks off Dark Habits’ first concert of 2024, and rather than shutting down, the world is open wide, and the soundtrack is Clementine Valentine.
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