ISQ (Irene Serra) – The Silence is Deafening

ISQ is the musical project of vocalist and songwriter Irene Serra, and she's bringing it to the Folklore Rooms at The Quadrant Pub on Saturday 7 November. She'll be performing songs from her album The Silence is Deafening, backed by her live band.

It's a hard sound to pin down. Serra pulls from alternative pop, noir jazz and electronic textures, and critics have called it a melting pot of genres — jazz, pop, acoustic and experimental all in one. Her vocals sit in the space between Billie Holiday and Sade, with a soulful, improvisatory style that lets her stretch out over the course of a song rather than sticking to a strict line. The live show is built around that, with the full band filling out the sound and her lyrics taking centre stage.

Those lyrics are where the record gets its weight. The songs speak to resilience, identity and the bonds between generations, so it's not just about the mood — there's a fair bit of ground covered in the writing. Hearing them live with a band behind her gives the whole thing a different energy than the record on its own, and the improvisatory side of her singing means no two performances are going to sound exactly the same.

The gig runs from 14:00 to 16:00, so it's a Saturday afternoon session rather than a late one. Tickets are £10.00, and you'll find the Folklore Rooms inside The Quadrant Pub at 12 North Street, BN1 3GJ.