Live Review from Girls with Guitars #6:
4人樂隊Once的結他手均為女性，樂隊理念為發掘平凡生活中的美好。開首的Note建立了十分強烈的歌曲風格，開朗的旋律配合甜美聲線，日式搖滾富旋律性的結他獨奏搶耳度與Vocal不相伯仲。Paper Plant廷續愉快氛圍，充滿活力，結他以幾個主要和弦作中心，轉換不同拍子節奏營造變化，歌詞勵志，陽光活力，主音聲線特別在於即使只聽亦感受到濃厚的笑容，樂隊成員彈奏樂器時表現跳脫，形成了獨特氣氛。Forever一曲以普通話演唱，旋律依然動聽，結他豐富了歌曲的聲音，唯一略嫌不足的是主音咬字發音不夠清晰，影響聽眾的投入度。終曲Happy Together 充斥著大量結他riff, 聽覺上十分爽快，
雖然演唱時的穩定度仍有改進空間，但整體上能簡潔地完整表現出樂隊所追求的joy in everyday life，輕易牽動了現場氣氛和情緒。
– Becky Wong
Once were next up, and the second they took the stage it felt a bit like the 90s (and I know for a fact that I wasn’t the only one thinking this); the band looked like a cutesy girl punk rock band from that decade. They began with an intro that was, to put it simply, very Pearl Jam-y, which was even more 90s. However, the second they started their actual songs, I must confess to being a little disappointed that they weren’t that kind of band. They are a fairly standard-issue pop-rock band, but with more rock than is usual. However, I must also say that unlike many bands I’ve said this about, they’re not forgettable and their songs don’t all blend into one, and this made me truly happy to see. Part of it is their delivery; the band are having a lot of fun on stage and it’s infectious. However, this has been true of a lot of bands I’ve criticised before. I suppose, to boil it down, what probably made them stand out is the fact that their guitarist has a style that’s noticeable and fully realised. She plays a distorted, feedbacky guitar that has some of the soaring feeling of glam, the sweetness of pop and a choppy style that has hints of metal, which has hints of bands like The Breeders. Plus, their singer can actually sing, and that’s always good for a band. They play fast and fun songs, in general, and though they sometimes bleed into sounding like an Avril Lavigne song (case in point: Forever), they generally manage to stay away from that territory, and gave us all a fun set to listen to.
— Shashwati Kala
