The beauty of a multi-venue urban festival is the sudden, unpredictable shift in environment from one door to the next. Stepping out of the Liverpool drizzle and into the industrial, intimate confines of the Kazimier Stockroom, Leeds alt-pop duo Lucky Iris pulled off one of the most complete sonic transformations of the entire Liverpool Sound City 2026 weekend. Armed with nothing but a microphone, laptop, and a MIDI keyboard, Maeve Florsheim and Jasper Exley managed to shrink the psychological distance of a festival crowd instantly, turning a compact, concrete room into a sweaty, high-energy dancefloor showdown.
Electronic Muscle and Vocal Seduction
The performance thrived entirely on the exceptional creative chemistry between the two talented stars. Operating the decks with razor-sharp precision, Jasper anchored the room with pulse-pounding electronic beats and gritty, muscular basslines. Out front, Maeve commanded the space with a mesmerising, sultry vocal presence. Her soft, fluid movements and flawless delivery cut effortlessly through the dense synth layers, injecting an absolute pop authority into the packed room.
Sonically, the duo bypassed predictable, guitar-heavy indie tropes. Instead, they leaned into a sophisticated, heavy electronic palette that felt like a direct nod to classic late-90s and early-2000s crossover acts. The dense textures and hypnotic rhythms felt heavily reminiscent of the sleek synth-pop of Goldfrapp, the melodic warmth of Dubstar, and the quirky, dancefloor-ready groove of Moloko. It provided a joyous, infectious pocket of pure life that stood out completely from the weekend’s heavier post-punk acts.
Setlist Highlights
The performance was masterfully paced to elevate the room’s energy track by track. During the set, the driving, infectious rhythm of I Just Want To Dance set a brilliant baseline, perfectly capturing the euphoric, glittery blur of a late-night club environment. They kept the momentum surging by dropping the full-throttle bass and razor-sharp synths of Play Me Like A Speaker, a track that pushed the venue’s sound system to its absolute limit.
The defining flashpoint of the entire performance arrived when the duo unleashed the massive, hypnotic groove of their flagship mixtape title track, Fall in Love With the DJ. The room erupted into absolute pandemonium, fully unlocking the high-octane energy that defines their current studio direction. Balancing the club-ready chaos with moments of emotional resonance, the sweeping indie-pop textures of Give Me Something to Believe In hit beautifully, leaving the crowd completely captivated.
All photography provided by David Ellitts (@dave_took_some_photos)
