A Look Inside Operelly’s Performance at El Cid Sunset
By Kelly Darroch
A quick tiptoe down the steps of Silver Lake’s charmingly intimate El Cid venue brought an enchanting night of music from Bay Area-born musician Operelly.
Photo by Kelly Darroch
Just two months after the release of her second EP, FLUTTERS AWAY, Olivia Austen, A.K.A. Operelly, delivered a swirl of electro-acoustic magic for the sold-out crowd, with an opening set from LA singer-songwriter Ella Woolsey. With the new EP being on heavy rotation for me the last eight weeks and routinely adding a touch of whimsy to each bike ride of mine, I was anticipating a hypnotic and rather delicate musical performance. And I got just that, but with a bit more heart-throbbing bass than I was expecting.
Though her three-piece band may have lacked the theatrics, simplicity plays well to her advantage, even down to the distinctly twee black dress she was repping. Operelly’s vocals are akin to a blend between a softer-sounding Joanna Newsom and a Disney princess, and it didn’t falter one bit in a live setting; in fact, it was even more distinct. After all, isn’t that all you could ask to hear above glitchy electronics and an acoustic guitar?
Her clever (and positively wordy) lyrics stirred the crowd into some beautifully communal moments of sing-along, especially with the Operelly classic, “You Don’t Have One Hope” and new favorites like “Under My Bed.” This track in particular was a standout in the set, opening with memorable vintage video game sounds and blending into a sparkling electric guitar tone, topped off with Operelly’s acoustic strumming. It wasn’t overly refined, and delivered the intersection between disorientation and sonic sweetness that I look for in her music. Operelly mentioned during the set that, “It’s been really, really fun figuring out arrangements and playing it live,” in reference to the new EP. And that truly was the fun of the set; not every song sounded identical to the recorded version, but brought a new live element that was amplified by the apparent joy that she was experiencing on stage.
Photo by Kelly Darroch
Towards the end of the set, she performed a cover of a song that was so ridiculously in her wheelhouse, I was almost upset with myself for not thinking of how perfect a match it was first: “The Rainbow Connection.” I’m not sure where Seth Rogen is in the process of fully bringing back The Muppet Show after that one episode with Sabrina Carpenter, but my pitch for them is Operelly. Yeah, maybe Chappell Roan is the obvious choice, but I can just envision an electronic number where she samples the cluck of Camilla the Chicken, or a lo-fi track with Electric Mayhem. Regardless, her rendition was quite sweet, and I wouldn’t mind seeing her performing in a swamp with Kermit.
Beyond her coining of the term “tiptoe music,” Operelly is truly bringing something fresh to the bedroom pop and electro-acoustic landscape. After experiencing her unique and charming sound beyond my headphones, her development as an artist seems not only possible, but inevitable as she continues to experiment on and off the stage.
Photo by Kelly Darroch
