Del Water Gap Live At Camden Roundhouse Review: Chasing The Chimera Tour
Del Water Gap is touring November 2025 album ‘Chasing The Chimera’. Image credit: Anthony Wilson
For now, Del Water Gap seems content and comfortable to entertain fans with the heart-on-your-sleeve hits that brought him international fame, and sprinklings of his new-era poetry.
Seated at the cavernous, determined-to-stay-circular Camden Roundhouse last night, after a karaoke interlude from a buzzing crowd over the pre-show playlist, a suited and booted Del Water Gap appeared. Stepping onto a small-ish stage festooned with guitars, he blows a kiss to welcome his audience – the same way he leaves it.
With support from unflirt, America’s unlikely poet-indie-pop artist returned to London yesterday, touring his new record and regreeting fans with old favourites.
Check out our review of the night below.
Del Water Gap on his world tour of ‘Chasing The Chimera’. Image credit: TOPNOTE
The Victorian-era venue’s unusual layout is both cavelike and cosy. The draped stage and silhouetted band coupled with its cast iron pillars created the atmosphere of an industrial neo-Glastonbury tent. A greyscale live-streamed video camera projected over the stage presented an effective visual which added to the intimacy, and New Yorker Samuel Holden Jaffe found himself embedded in the partying crowd by the time of encore highlight, ‘Perfume’.
Del Water Gap dipped into each of his three studio albums and beyond, His catalogue reaching back to 2015 has been strong since the start, though fans in-particular of November release ‘Chasing The Chimera’ may have been left wanting. Seven of its songs were scattered across a 19 track-setlist, one more than the pie-share of 2023 album ‘I Miss You Already & I Haven’t Left Yet’ – the most disappointing omissions being ‘Eastside Girls’ and the hauntingly beautiful ‘Eagle In My Nest’.
For an album so new and so alive with much fuller compositions than we’ve heard from DWG before, it was a shame not to have these symphonies brought to life. In place of a saxophone, the band’s guitarist delivered a biting solo during ‘New Personality’, though the evening felt more like a go-around of a fan-favourite setlist with the occasional new entry than it did an explicit tour for ‘Chasing The Chimera’… or maybe that’s just because I didn’t hear my personal favourites.
For those that did make the cut, the flashing lights of ‘Please Follow’ delivered extra edge to an already fantastic song, while ‘Marigolds’ was brought to life with bold amber hues and a sincere performance of apology. ‘Ghost In The Uniform’ saw S. Holden Jaffe begin to loosen into his movements, one of many songs that showcase a talent for blending exquisite storytelling with imperfect real-life moments: ‘And I can see her ribs / When she’s sending me shower pics.’
A sense of shared humour between artist and audience was apparent, from DWG giving a ‘lighting remote’ to Evie in the crowd while his lighting director ‘goes off to call his mom’, to posters of his face photoshopped on cats and leprechauns (St. Patrick’s Day…) popping up during ‘How To Live’ – not your usual sentimental fan project. From the circle, there was plenty of dancing next to a bubbling trio of American students, who shrieked with delight when a well-delivered and very well-received cover of Goo Goo Dolls’ ‘Iris’ began.
“‘Ghost In The Uniform’ saw S. Holden Jaffe begin to loosen into his movements, one of many songs that showcase a talent for blending exquisite storytelling with imperfect real-life moments”
The set picked up in drama, perhaps because it gradually became a journey back in time to younger selves and all-encompassing memories. Holden Jaffe has always possessed a knack for crystal-clear introspection, though his earlier songwriting is more grounded in present, pure feeling. Indeed, the audience met these earlier hits with the largest roars, and loudest chanting back of a bottomless supply of hopeless-romantic lyrics.
“Holden Jaffe has always possessed a knack for crystal-clear introspection, though his earlier songwriting is more grounded in present, pure feeling. For all the meaning and metaphor contained in DWG’s latest album, it seems he’s still finding most confidence (and reception) on stage through the immediacy of his older releases.”
Where ‘Chasing The Chimera’ was conversely made brilliant in its layers of symbolism from the title onwards, last night’s performance slowly reverted back to literal descriptions of steamy nights and early relationships. This was most earnestly delivered in ‘Coping On Unemployment’, sharing the same concept as above, though originally told vivid and verbatim, and without that extra hint of context to interpret: ‘Daily, she sends me photos of her / She's only 20-something / Terrible with her iPhone’. For all the meaning and metaphor contained in DWG’s latest album, it seems he’s still finding most confidence (and reception) on stage through the immediacy of his older releases.
The singer reflected on his last experience playing Camden Roundhouse, supporting Girl In Red in 2022. ‘I went off the stage crying because I thought I’d never play shows these big again’ he says with a smile, before acknowledging the feat of filling a room this size (1800 cap.) as an international artist. Live performances of ‘NFU’ and ‘Beach House’ suggest DWG could pull off a more rock-driven sound – his captivating movements at times almost feminine, toeing the line between delicate and musical-theatre-esque.
For now, he seems content and comfortable to entertain fans with the heart-on-your-sleeve hits that brought him international fame, and sprinklings of his new-era poetry that I hope we can soon hear more of.
Del Water Gap performing at Camden Roundhouse. Image credit: TOPNOTE