LIVE FROM THE PIT: DeathbyRomy, KiNG MALA and Jayden Hammer
- Zuzanna Pazola
- 7 hours ago
- 4 min read
There are certain rooms that seem engineered for intensity, and King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut is one of them. Low ceiling, close walls, zero distance between artist and audience. On Wednesday 18th February 2026, that intimacy became fuel as DEATHBYROMY brought her dark-pop spectacle to Glasgow, supported by two openers who understood exactly how to set the temperature.
JAYDEN HAMMER stepped out first, with a confidence that made it hard to believe this was her very first tour. She carried herself with a sultry, rocker-chic coolness, but with her sharp edges softened by a poppier sensibility. There was a deliberate swagger to her set, with heavy-eyes stares and hooks that lingered just long enough to entice the crowd.
Even in an already intimate room, she closed the distance further, stepping down into the crowd more than once, particularly during Living Dead Girl, and singing from the barrier like she has been claiming stages for years. What started as typical politeness, from a crowd unfamiliar with an opening act, very quickly shifted into something more; by the end of the set, most of the room was moving, giving in to songs they might not have known before but were more than willing to follow.
KING MALA followed, and shifted the mood into something darker and more theatrical. She told us her goal was to make us feel like a god, urging the room to carry itself accordingly. It could have felt tongue-in-cheek, but instead landed as a fitting invitation. A large portion of the audience already knew the words to most of the set, and the response was immediate. KING MALA’s voice had a richness to it, smoky and controlled, capable of sliding from velvet-soft restraint into something sharp and commanding. The overall atmosphere was dreamlike but ominous, like stepping into a candlelit cathedral with subwoofers.
We were treated to a new, at the time not yet released track, Surrender, which held everyone’s attention incredibly well for a first listen. During Devotion, she joked that it was her dog’s favourite song because she howls every time it plays; a small, sweet crack in the mystique. The room was then snapped back into motion with Eat The Spoon, which had everyone jumping in unison. By the time she left the stage, the energy was electric.
When DEATHBYROMY arrived, the atmosphere tightened instantly. JAYDEN HAMMER reappeared as part of the live band, which gave the night a satisfying continuity. DEATHBYROMY commanded the stage with a distinct intensity that felt aimed at the female gaze. There was a deliberate, almost predatory theatricality to her performance, a sense of reclaiming power and space without asking permission. It was confrontational in the best way.
She opened the set with Vicious Bliss, much to the delight of the gathered crowd, then dedicated Saint to a “bitch-ass ex-boyfriend”, which earned deafening cheers. Catharsis travels fast in a packed room. I Feel Like A God turned that release into something collective, with the entire venue chanting along. In a space as tight as King Tut’s, those voices bounce off the walls and back into your chest.
Little Dreamer featured one of the night’s most striking flourishes, with Romy using a megaphone to distort her vocals. The effect added grit and urgency, turning the song into something more confrontational and raw in this live setting. Midway through the set, California Baby reigned in the pace, with softer lights and the previous intensity dialled back. What had been all sharp edges became something almost weightless. It was one of the evening’s highlights, ethereal without losing focus. In that small room, her voice seemed to hover rather than hit.
If I Die Young maintained that somber atmosphere and offered a beautiful showcase of ROMY’s vocal control. At the end, she addressed the crowd, saying that if anyone there had ever questioned their life, she was proud and happy that they were in that room. It was incredibly heartfelt without being overwrought, and the hush that followed felt earned. The final stretch of the set rebuilt the previous momentum. XXXhibitionist was another highlight, exploding near the end of the set and unleashing a surge of energy. The crowd matched it beat for beat, bodies moving and voices raised.
Overall, the set felt really carefully paced. There were explosive, high-energy moments where choreography and physicality took centre stage, but they were balanced with sincere, vocally driven sections that grounded the spectacle. ROMY paused at one point to ask about deep fried Mars bars, laughing that they sounded both evil and delicious, and “very American” of us. Moments like this kept the atmosphere buoyant between heavier tracks.
Live shows in small venues demand authenticity because there is nowhere to hide, and for this gig that closeness worked as an amplifier rather than a limitation. JAYDEN HAMMER and KING MALA primed the room wonderfully, and DEATHBYROMY turned it into something communal, cathartic, and charged. In a space built for sweat and noise, she delivered both, with just enough vulnerability to make it matter.
Words: Zuzanna Pazola
Photos: Anna Goley
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