In a small, moody bar off Santa Monica Boulevard and Western Avenue, a youthful crowd of twenty-somethings had the intimate opportunity to experience a rising indie pop icon firsthand. crêpe girl, the solo project of French-American musician Eliza Grégoire, took to the small stage of Los Angeles’ Gold-Diggers Bar on a windy Sunday evening for her first ever headlining show.

Celebrating the release of her newly released EP STARGAZING, the prospect of hearing Grégoire perform her sunny, upbeat tracks live had gathered a notable crowd for an otherwise small venue. Dimly lit by just a few lighting fixtures hanging from the ceiling and a number of candles placed on tabletops around the room, the bar had the ambience of an underground speakeasy, a setting that seemed fitting for the discovery of rising artists in a hectic city full of musicians. At the time that I entered the venue at 7:30pm, roughly 90 minutes prior to the start of the set, the brightest object in the room was a lone disco ball that hung from the ceiling, steadily rotating and glimmering with the rich, red light of the nearby stage. This didn’t last for long, as crêpe girl’s radiant aura commanded all attention when the 9:00pm start time finally arrived.

Joined by a full band, Grégoire kicked off her set with an explosive burst of energy, diving into the first song off STARGAZING, “CIRCLES”. For anyone in search of pop anthems to blast this spring and summer, look no further. The cool tones of Grégoire’s voice hit you like that first blast of air hitting your face as you roll down the windows of a moving car: refreshing and irrevocably smile-inducing. The energy of the crowd certainly matched that of Grégoire’s, if there were more space in the tightly packed room, everyone certainly would have been acting out the lyrics and “Ru-ru-running in circles”.

For the ease of all her fans, especially those trying to catch glimpses of the small sheets of paper at the band’s feet, Grégoire confessed that she’d just be playing the EP from start to finish, alongside a few of her previously released singles. With this, the melodic synth intro track of “NOT MAKING UP” began echoing around the dark room. The song itself is an introspective train of thought traveling toward the revelation that some relationships can’t be rebuilt and it’s best to not make up with some of the people who cross through our lives, a message that’s reinforced with lines like “Don’t take back what you once told me / We’re not making up just because you’re lonely”.

Nostalgia and longing for simpler times within relationships is a recurring theme throughout the EP, especially on the following track “KEEP IT SIMPLE”. In a post promoting the Valentine’s Day release of the song, Grégoire described it as an ode to holding onto a fleeting relationship “in hopes of keeping it alive by simply just ‘keeping it simple’”. Despite slightly heartbreaking lyrical admissions of “By now you’d know you want me / But you don’t (and you won’t…)”, the lively overlying guitar riffs and buried, yet alluring bass lines of the song make it hard to not sing along with a nodding head and wide smile. In this, Grégoire puts her mastery of songwriting and production design on full display. The creative choice of juxtaposing lyrics rooted in romantic dissonance and frustration within a frame of seemingly upbeat, fun indie dance-pop is reminiscent of other rising stars like Del Water Gap and Towa Bird.

Other highlights from the night include a dance break during “BABYBLUE”, which is a personal favorite of mine from the album. Grêgoire jumped into the crowd during the song’s closing guitar solo, quickly forming a circle of fans dancing alongside her. The stage presence is undeniable, Grégoire has found her calling with crêpe girl and we can’t wait to see her stages get bigger and bigger as her music receives the recognition and wide-spanning audience it deserves.

With a consistent sound across the EP that meshes well with the tastes of the current generation of indie-pop fans, as well as an entertaining stage presence, the joy and movement across the crowd was a small but telling sign for the future of crêpe girl. It’s one that will hopefully see her popularity explode in the coming months and years, we’re glad to say that we were here from the near-start. STARGAZING is available to stream on all platforms and we can’t praise it enough, give it a listen if you’re in need of 14 minutes of pure, good vibes.