Foreign Affairs, the duo consisting of brothers from Bristol, Adam and Lawrence Purnell, are busy promoting the release of their debut album later this year. Since releasing their debut EP ‘The Old Fire Station’ in 2018, the duo have opened for country-music superstars such as Margo Price, Morgan Evans, and Striking Matches to name a few. On Tuesday night, the duo took the stage at the Green Note in London, an award-winning music venue in the heart of Camden Town known for its intimate performances.

From the beginning of the show, the brothers’ relaxed nature was evident. They share a unique chemistry, speaking little verbally to each other during the show but also noticeably always on the same page during songs. You can quickly tell the duo grew up together and have been writing songs together since their highschool years.

Early on in the show, the brothers played their lively hit, Chained to Love, which quickly got the audience’s attention, with some clapping and stomping their feet to the beat. While for most of the night, the duo played together – there were two songs that Lawrence, the lead singer of the two, played solo as his brother stepped off stage. Those songs were titled Flowers in the Window, a piano backed emotional ballad, and I’m on Fire, which is another unreleased song that was recorded at London’s Snap Studios. While it may sound unintuitive to have Adam step aside for a couple tracks, Lawrence held the stage powerfully without his brother for these two songs, allowing him to further connect with the audience.

Some songs that especially caught the small crowd’s attention included, The Hope Comes Again, a passionate song about getting through hard times, and Roseanna, an acoustically-driven song that describes the internal battle of wanting to put on a brave face for someone. The latter truly showcases the duo’s powerful vocal range that gives them the ability to make a crowd give their full and undivided attention.

A unique aspect of the show was that despite the small space, Foreign Affairs made the most of it. While singing their unreleased acoustic song Baby Blue, they came to the center of the venue, standing between tables and their seated audience members. Lawrence, with his eyes closed, intensely sang the song’s thought-provoking lyrics that truly put their songwriting skills on display. On a lighter tone, the two finished the set with the upbeat Americana song Wash and Fold, asking the crowd to sing along in harmony, dividing them by the left and right side of the venue. As they came back out for an unsurprising encore, they played their folky-soul hit Faded, which truly allowed the show to end on a high note. Audience members were singing, dancing, and clapping until the final applause..

Notably, the sold-out show consisted of a mix of people. Some were fans (two that even traveled from Paris when asked who came the furthest) and some appeared to just be discovering the group, myself included. However, it was impossible not to be mesmerised by Foreign Affairs. With a stage presence almost as impressive as their songwriting, you can tell these brothers are ready to (and surely will) take on a larger stage for their next headlining show in London.