What an honour to have New Zealand’s self-proclaimed ‘only popstars’ at our humble festival.
A hip hop image and sound with self-aware lyrics
Laura Daniel and Joseph Moore return triumphantly to the Edinburgh Fringe with Two Hearts: The Comeback Tour. Or, if you haven’t seen them before, their “Come Tour’. Tackling important issues like climate change, terrorism and sexual harassment in the workplace, the comedy duo have an opinion on everything and they’re ready to share it with the world through the power of heavy trap club beats.
Imagine if two of your favourite popstars started dating, decided to go on tour together and then aired out their messy relationship drama on stage for all to see—it’s a Daily Mail dream come true. Daniel is the stronger vocalist, while Moore mixes the tracks and plays the 'woke' boyfriend. Daniel’s popstar image is enhanced by her many wardrobe changes, assisted by a long-suffering stage manager, Chris Stratton, and her intermittent backup dancers. It’s very obvious that she’s enjoying herself, which makes her ‘Queen of Pop’ persona all the more believeable.
Despite the heavy electronic beat making it hard to hear the lyrics, especially during Soup Boy, the music is perfectly on brand. This over-the-top pop/rap/comedy duo is the opposite of another famous New Zealand comedy export, Flight of the Conchords, yet that particular type of ‘down under’ humour is very recognisable. They might be more accurately compared to The Lonely Island, mixing a hip hop image and sound with self-aware lyrics and very meta observations.
Although it potentially serves to reinforce the stereotype that menstruating women are irrational, PMS is one of the highlights of the show. Giving examples of bitchy things she says during her time of the month, interspersed with a list of the awful symptoms she’s dealing with, Daniel is the champion of every woman in the audience. The backup dancers’ sweatpants routine is particularly memorable. We get plastic bags thrown at us, just one way to save the planet, and reminded that not all ‘90s/’00s nostalgia is as cutesy as it seems—remember 9/11? The show concludes with a number that claims ironically to be for all the baby boomers in the audience (ie. zero) but is actually a way of throwing shade at them from the millennial perspective.
Two Hearts may be heading back to New Zealand soon due to popular demand (and visa requirements) but their music lives on. And if you're going to be remembered for something, it might as well be a song about a slutty ghost.
