Of all the words to describe Caity Baser, shy would not be high on the list. On the opening night of her Still Learning tour (“my mixtape, which is number fucking seven in the charts by the way!”), the Southampton newcomer appears in silhouette behind a giant L plate, striking a pose as disembodied voices bemoan her attitude, her songwriting, the feeling that “she’s fit but can’t sing”. Tearing things down with a baseball bat, she steps out in a mesh top and frilly pantaloons, lurching headlong into I’m a Problem. Boasting of her “big dick energy”, it has her in full flight within seconds.
To the more conservative listener, everything about Baser’s music could be deemed a bit much – too loud, too crude, too young at 21 to really know what kind of artist she is. But over the course of an energetic hour (and the foresight to realise that her hits will sound even better with the backing of a live pop-punk band), she cheerleads and cartwheels her way through what is essentially a celebration of chatty, bratty girlhood, embracing the joys and messes along the way.
