In a really hot, sweaty, sold out Bristol Exchange, Free Throw and Saturdays at Your Place brought the Midwest Emo and Eat Defeat got things going with some classic punk pop…. from Yorkshire.
The punters were down early, with virtually a full house taking in all 3 bands. The temperature just got hotter as the bands got the whole place jumping with circle pits, stage divers, and crowd surfers.
It’s a sweltering 27°C in Birmingham tonight, but that doesn’t matter much. Because rain or shine, with Frank Turner playing in the O2 Academy’s second room tonight, all 600 people in the venue will be drenched in sweat by the end of the night anyway.
Before Turner even comes on, the temperature inside the intimate venue is already rising. Security guards frantically hand out cups of chilled water, clammy shoulders press against each other, and a murmur of excitement ripples through the venue as passionate fans wait for the show to start.
Finally, Frank Turner and his band, The Sleeping Souls, saunter on stage. Wasting no time – for they have a 25-song setlist to get through – they launch into ‘No Thank You for the Music’, a boisterous punk number from his latest album, Undefeated. It’s just the first song, but it already feels like the venue’s energy (and temperature) can’t get any higher.
‘Girl From the Record Shop’, ‘Get Better’, and ‘The Next Storm’ receive an equally booming reception. Bodies are smashing into each other, arms and legs are flailing, and people’s foreheads are shimmering with sweat. Seizing the moment, Turner motions to the crowd to part.
“Rule number one,” he says. “If you’ve already been to one of my shows before, you know what I’m going to say.”
And as if to prove his point, the crowd shouts back, “Don’t be a dickhead!”
“Rule number two, sing along if you know the words. And rule number three, look after each other.”
Wasting no time, his loyal fans obey, starting the first of many moshpits of the night. With each song fading into the next, the show is mad and frantic, and the crowd revels in the bedlam.
“During the pandemic, I didn’t write any music about what we were going through because it felt a little on the nose,” he explains in one of the show’s few moments of respite. “But now that we’re past it, I wrote this song,” he chuckles as he breaks into the aptly named ‘Pandemic PTSD’.
‘Long Live the Queen’, ‘Balthazar, Impresario’, and ‘The Ballad of Me and My Friends’ mark the set’s acoustic portion, with each song receiving an even more joyful reception than the last. While most artists prefer to stick to the same setlist every night of a tour, Turner keeps the crowd on their toes, playing tracks across his impressive ten album discography. A fervent singalong accompanies each song, serving as a testament to the dedicated community Turner has built. He may not have performed these songs for a while, but judging by the euphoric cheer each song receives, you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking they were his most popular.
‘Somewhere Inbetween’ marks a definite interlude in the audience’s sustained commotion. While Turner ordinarily exudes confidence and mastery, ‘Somewhere Inbetween’ reveals his more introspective, vulnerable side.
“I’m 42, and I still have no fucking idea what I’m doing with my life,” he admits before diving straight into the song’s heartbreaking first line: “I’ve been pretending to be somebody else since I was just fifteen,” he sings thoughtfully into the microphone.
“No sense of where I’m standing, half my fucking life caught somewhere in between,” he cries, face contorted in discomfort, fists clenched, and grasping at his sweat-soaked shirt. As a singer-songwriter often praised for his honesty and earnestness, Turner is no stranger to being vulnerable on stage. But here, singing about how he still suffers from impostor syndrome and uncertainty despite having built up a worshipping fanbase, he seems more exposed and sensitive than ever before. And if his fans’ reaction is anything to go by, is more than deserving of his continual success.
Without taking a moment to breathe, he dives into a flurry of his more upbeat hits, old and new, including anti-fascist ‘1933’, ‘Non-Serviam’, and the toe-tapping ‘Do One’, which elicits a unanimous singalong from the crowd.
Fan-favourite ‘Photosynthesis’ marks the end of the main show before ‘Undefeated’, ‘Recovery’, ‘I Still Believe’, and ‘Four Simple Words’ end the night on a frenzied high note. After having heard stories of his tumultuous teenage years (‘Caesefire’), struggles with his mental health (‘Haven’t Been Doing So Well’), and finding meaning in life without religion (‘Glory Hallelujah’), there’s no better way to end than by asking the crowd to join their hands above their heads, spin in circles, and dance like nobody was watching.
No one is quite doing it like Frank Turner. He might not have fancy pyrotechnics, elaborate stage setups, or a troupe of backup dancers, but if there’s one thing Turner knows how to do, it’s put on a show. And with this being his show number 2921, it’s no surprise he’s mastered his craft. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll dance, but most importantly, you’ll have a roaring good time. Because, after all, in Turner’s own words, “Who thought that something as simple as rock and roll would save us all?”.
Bristol Sounds, Canons Marsh Amphitheatre, 28th June 2024
Prior to entry, we were informed that this would be a ‘no phones’ show, and we were encouraged to keep our devices in our pockets, and enjoy the show with our eyes, not our screens. This was something we were reminded of again about 10 minutes before the band came on, and with security shining their torches at anyone with a device out, we couldn’t forget it.
Placebo’s set was a mix of their classic hits, with songs from their newest album, Never Let Me Go, throughout the night.
Opening with ‘Taste In Men’, the crowd were warm and receptive, but it took a few songs to get people really moving along.
They had a slightly odd stage layout, with frontman and singer Brian Molko taking stage left and bassist/guitarist/pianist Stefan Olsdal taking stage right. Although different, it still worked well for the show.
Number 1 hit ‘Every You Every Me’ really got the crowd going, and at the halfway point it picked the energy up for the rest of the set. A couple of mosh pits even broke out and one person crowd surfed!
‘Nancy Boy’ brought the main set to a close, with thunderous applause and the classic chant of “One more song!” bringing the band back on to please the crowd once more.
‘Infra-Red’ got the crowd moving one last time, before they closed the night with their unique cover of Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’. Although a bit slower and not as much for movement, it still got everyone singing along for one last song.
And before we knew it, that was the night over. A massive thank you to the team from Crosstown concerts and Bristol Sounds for organising a great night.
Gracie Abrams’ highly anticipated second album, The Secret of Us, was released on Friday 21st June. Since the release of her debut EP Minor in 2020, Abrams has solidified herself in the soft, ‘sad-girl pop’ scene through her emotional, yearning lyrics and her ethereal, gentle voice. Despite this, The Secret Of Us is not without faults and doesn’t quite live up to my expectations for Abrams’ sophomore album.
There are a few great tracks on The Secret Of Us. Both of the album’s singles, ‘Risk’ and ‘Close To You’ are real highlights. In ‘Risk’, Abrams’ voice shifts from her signature, Phoebe-Bridgers-esque breathy vocals to a louder, frantic urgency, drawing the listener in with a sense of desperation to reach the song’s climax. The lyrics “I feel like I could die/ ‘cause you’re not here/ and it don’t feel right” are particularly haunting, and encapsulate the themes of love, loss, and longing which repeatedly appear throughout the album.
The album’s second single, ‘Close To You’, provides the final track, and compared to the other songs on The Secret Of Us offers vibrant, classic pop beats whilst Abrams laments over her desires for intimacy with somebody who seems unaware of her existence. It is musically reminiscent of Lorde’s ‘Green Light’ and progresses from soft, almost spoken singing to pounding drums and powerful, exhilarating belting, providing a strong, cathartic emotional release.
Pretty much every song begins with quiet singing which eventually increases in intensity but fails to climax
‘Tough Love’ also stands out for its jaunty, acoustic melody and faster pace. Abrams takes on a more singsong voice than in the other tracks, resulting in a song that is more memorable, catchy, and uplifting. In this song, Abrams considers the significance of her female friendships, a refreshing contrast to the relationship focus of the rest of the album. Abrams sings “no chance I waste my twenties on random men/ not one of them is cooler than all my friends”, reflective of the complexities of navigating dating a string of ‘random men’ in your early twenties alongside the preciousness of strong female friendships.
Track 5, ‘us.’, is the only song featuring another artist; Taylor Swift accompanies Abrams on this titular track which begins softly but develops into a more intense, emotionally-driven number with Swift and Abrams’ whimsical voices complementing each other well. Abrams is undoubtedly more well-known amongst Swifties due to being Swift’s support act during the American leg of the Eras Tour, and her influence on Abrams is especially clear in this song’s punchy, Swift-style bridge, which definitely gives this song an edge.
However, aside from these tracks, The Secret of Us severely lacks variety and excitement. Pretty much every song begins with quiet singing which eventually increases in intensity but fails to climax, backed by a relentless acoustic guitar, causing each song to blur into one and leaving little impression on the listener. Tracks ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’, and ‘Good Luck Charlie’ exemplify this – they both begin with soft, calm singing and simple, background melodies, continuing persistently in this way throughout, with no burst of energy, excitement, or emotion.
Many of the songs fail to build in intensity or emotion, making the album hard to listen to and engage with in its entirety
Similarly, the violin build-up in the penultimate track ‘Free Now’ is admittedly beautiful, but it fails to erupt into the euphoric crescendo it teases, again reinforcing the underwhelming feel of the album. Even the opening song, ‘Felt Good About You’, falls victim to this monotony. Backed by a quiet, constant, electronic melody, Abrams’ soft voice is at the forefront of this track, and at no point do the instruments or her vocals build in intensity. Collectively, this gives the album an arduous, never-ending feel, and whilst each song individually is quite good, repeating the same formula becomes tedious and frustrating.
Overall, there is a cohesiveness to The Secret Of Us, and some of the songs are really catchy and compelling. However, whilst each song individually is fairly easy on the ear, as a collective they are just too similar, and I doubt I will be playing the whole album on repeat. Many of the songs fail to build in intensity or emotion, making the album hard to listen to and engage with in its entirety, unfortunately resulting in an underwhelming, rather bland collection of songs.
In July, Abrams embarks on a small run of shows in England, as well as a large US and Canada tour in September, so it will be interesting to hear these new songs performed live. I am also excited to see how Abrams’ music evolves and develops further in the future, hopefully with a bit more variety and flair than this album provides.
In the fifteen or so years that Troye Sivan has been in the public eye, we’ve seen quite a few different versions of him. Initially emerging as a cornerstone of the early 2010s YouTube scene, Sivan swiftly pivoted, releasing his first LP Blue Neighbourhood in 2015. By 2018, with the release of Bloom, he had cemented himself as a pop tour de force, collaborating with the likes of Ariana Grande (‘Dance To This’) and Gordi (‘Postcard’). However, it’s 2024 and the release of his third full-length album, Something to Give Each Other, that mark the Australian/South African singer’s arrival into his own. And if the eponymous tour is anything to go by, Sivan is only just warming up.
As the lights dim and the synth riff of the smooth and sultry ‘Got Me Started’ starts playing, electric blue light floods the venue. Thunderous applause welcomes Sivan’s arrival alongside a six-piece dance troupe, scattered on the colossal metal scaffolding adorning the stage. The accompanying choreography for ‘Got Me Started’ – and, indeed, for the rest of the show – is as sharp as it is sensual, with clockwork-like precision determining Sivan and his dancers’ every move. The palpable chemistry between them makes the crowd feel like intruders in an intimate moment, a feeling accentuated by the fact Sivan singing is into a strategically placed microphone held between a dancer’s legs.
It becomes clear that Sivan has taken no shortcuts with the staging
The slick ‘What’s The Time Where You Are?’ and the lovesick ‘My My My!’ are equally visually stunning, with Sivan and his dancers weaving seamlessly around each other with impeccable grace. “I wrote [Something to Give Each Other] to be performed live,” Sivan tells the eager concertgoers. And work well live, it does. Below, the crowd is an amalgamation of bodies dancing, singing, laughing, and relishing the welcoming, inviting atmosphere Sivan creates.
‘In My Room’, a collaboration with Spanish singer-songwriter Guitarricadelafuente, sees Sivan shirtless and sprawled out on a king-sized bed, complete with a dazzling silver duvet. “I’m just thinking of you, it’s a feeling I can’t describe,” he sings earnestly into the microphone while grinding on the sheets. It becomes clear that Sivan has taken no shortcuts with the staging, gleefully reaping the rewards as he delivers an engaging and mesmerising show.
During ‘Dance to This’ and ‘supernatural’ – both collaborations with Ariana Grande – and ‘You’, a collaboration with DJ and producer Regard and recent breakout star Tate McRae, it becomes painfully apparent that Troye Sivan should be a much bigger star than he is. The fact his collaborators aren’t there to share the stage with him doesn’t faze him. Sivan is a bona fide pop powerhouse and is more than capable of providing the joyous, thumping dance hits the audience is ravenous to hear on his own.
Sivan and the crowd’s desire to have fun is so intense that the blue-tinted, slower-tempo section of the set comes with an apology: “Sorry guys, I’ve got five more minutes of being emo left. Then we can go back to being slutty,” he quips, before launching into the tear-jerking guitar-led break-up ballad ‘could cry just thinking about you’.
In a time where it almost feels like LGBTQ+ rights are going backwards worldwide, Sivan carves a safe space for people to explore queer love
As the lights dim once again, and before the hangover from the melancholy of ‘Still Got It’, ‘Can’t Go Back, Baby’, and ‘could cry just thinking about you’ settles in, a video of Sivan, clad in full drag fills the screens. The crowd’s emotional faces are illuminated and Sivan wastes no time launching into the start of the lustful ‘One of Your Girls’.
Here, Sivan delivers a masterclass in pop performance. Wearing a black, satin ribbed corset, Sivan seduces one of his dancers, straddling the line between sexuality and tenderness. “Give me a sign if you ever get lonely, I’ll be like one of your girls,” he sings, as does every single person in attendance.
The explosive ‘1999’, a collaboration with fellow electropop star Charli XCX, with whom Sivan is set to tour later in the year, receives a raucous reception. Mammoth screens tint the arena ‘brat green’ – the lurid shade of lime green Charli XCX is using to promote her latest album – while Sivan and the crowd indulge in the song’s witty lyrics, chock-a-block with references to 90s nostalgia.
The show reaches its climate during the encore, where the blissful ‘Honey’ and the thumping dance-floor track ‘Rush’ bring the night’s euphoria to a peak. As the arena erupts into one final cheer, it becomes evident what the Something to Give Each Other tour is really about: human connection after COVID, sweat, sex, and having the time of your life in a judgement-free zone. In a time where it almost feels like LGBTQ+ rights are going backwards worldwide, Sivan carves a safe space for people to explore queer love. And with Something to Give Each Other marking a definite new chapter in Sivan’s career, this might just be his opportunity to plunge into mainstream stardom.
Photos and words by Sophie Flint Vázquez – no use without permission.
First up is Wyr, a local female-fronted 4 piece shoegaze band, formed in 2023. Wyr is a collective of shimmering guitars, ethereal swirling vocals, and lots and lots of reverb. They have been playing frequent shows and obviously are gaining a bit of a following if the early crowd are anything to go by. A gig at Rough Trade is due in September all while writing and recording songs for their upcoming EP. Keep an eye out for these guys in the coming months (Sorry, no pics of these!).
Next up are The Priscillas, launching straight into their own brand of, in their own words, Glam-punk-power-pop-female-foxy-foursome tunes. Singer, Jenny Drag, clad in a black leather catsuit and shaking a star-shaped tambourine is backed by crunching guitar hooks and supported with sweet harmonies as their poppy songs with searing social commentary get everyone bouncing. Moreover, it looks like they are having fun, just how rock’n’roll should be. They’ll finish the weekend supporting L7 at the Electric Ballroom and I’m sure they will smash it.
The Priscillas
Finally, and rather unassumingly, the Bykers drift onto the stage and once the drummer Kev Byker is located, it is time to get going. This was a very partisan crowd, with plenty of GBOA t-shirts on show. Considering the merch stand had a selection of more than 15 different shirts, this was no surprise.
After a promise of a set list full of new and old material, the tunes come thick and fast as Mary Byker (Ian Huxley), illuminated by projections throughout the set, deliver the vocals with passion. The in-between song chat is engaging and the crowd love it. Although encouraging Robber Bykers (Ian Reynolds) in his falling off the wagon is probably not the best use of his platform! Robber, however, seems unperturbed.
Gaye Bykers on Acid
Billy Boy Byker (Will Crewdson/ScantRegard) on guitar is truly brilliant. Not only does he really look the part, but his mastery of some of the complicated guitar work in a live environment was some achievement. The crowd start dancing and singing along from the get-go and doesn’t stop.
GBOA are legends of the short-lived Grebo scene in the late 80’s, and early 90’s and the energy is still there. And the social commentary is just as relevant today as it was 20-plus years ago, with songs about the environment still striking a chord. A great night in Bristol.
Words and photos by Glenn Morrison – no use without permission.
When Bring Me The Horizon first announced their seventh studio album, POST HUMAN: NeX GEn, it was originally meant for release in September 2023. The second instalment in their Post Human series, NeX GEn had big shoes to fill as it followed the critically acclaimed 2020 Post Human: Survival Horror. But after keyboardist and producer Jordan Fish left the band in 2023, the band were forced to rethink their plans and postpone the release of NeX GEn. The result? A string of singles released over the course of a painful three-and-a-half years. That is, until the 23rd of May 2024, when the band announced they were going to be surprise-dropping the album the following day.
So when the release of an album has been delayed countless times, a key member of the band leaves halfway through making the record, and with the album already toured well before its release, how good can it really be? The answer: surprisingly good.
BMTH are a band that refuse to stand still. From the deathcore of their debut album, Count Your Blessings, to the metalcore of the ever-popular Sempiternal to the electronic pop-rock of the controversial amo, BMTH might not always get it right, but what they refuse to do is stay put and rest on their laurels. NeX GEn is no different. A dynamic and complex mélange of Oli Sykes’ characteristic post-hardcore vocals, glitchy electronica beats, touches of hyperpop, and a healthy dose of pop and rock, had any other band released NeX GEn, it’d be hailed as a radical 180-degree shift in sound and direction. But this is BMTH—of course each release is going to be different.
The inconsistent quality of its songs means it doesn’t quite reach the heights of Survival Horror
Considering the disjointed release this album had, the resulting body of work is surprisingly cohesive. With each track blending seamlessly into the next, the songs on this album work satisfyingly well with each other, something which wouldn’t have been obvious listening to its six wildly different singles.
The transitions between songs are flawless. The spoken-word eulogy at the end of ‘R.i.p. (duskCOre RemIx)’: “We will start today’s ceremony with a few words from our dear friend” flows brilliantly into ‘AmEN!’, an unlikely collaboration with Lil Uzi Vert and Glassjaw’s Daryl Palumbo, where Sykes’ guttural screams open the song with “I hope you have fun rotting in hell”. Similarly, the transition from ‘YOUtopia’ to ‘Kool-Aid’ is so smooth it’s impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins. It’s clear the band intended NeX GEn to be listened to in full, but this is where the album falls short—for all its strong points, the inconsistent quality of its songs means it doesn’t quite reach the heights of Survival Horror.
NeX GEn is less of a misstep and more of a sign of Bring Me The Horizon’s ambition
NeX GEn boasts some of the band’s best songs—‘Kool-Aid’ is a roaring earworm of a song that flows flawlessly between hardcore verses and pop-rock choruses, ‘LosT’ is a frantic hyperpop-flavoured banger, and ‘LiMOusIne’, featuring Norwegian art-pop singer Aurora, joins the long list of BMTH collaborations that should not work on paper, but very much do.
Another standout is ‘n/A’, where Sykes, at his most introspective, reflects on the despair and hopelessness he felt during his struggles with addiction. The song also features the lines “Hello, Oli, you fucking knobhead / Did you think you had us fooled?” sung by a chorus of fans’ chants recorded during their NeX GEn January UK tour. Straddling the line between heartwarming and cheesy, the line is a welcome memento for those who attended the tour. Like ‘sTraNgeRs’ and ‘DIg It’, ‘n/A’ sees the band lean into a more acoustic, ballad-like sound that has been largely absent from their discography thus far.
However, other tracks, such as the album’s many ‘[ost]’ interludes, fail to leave such an impression. Instead, these melt into a grating, overproduced blend of tinny electronic noises, thumping beats, and spoken word that fail to add much to the album as a whole. For an album that is made to be listened to front to back, there are far too many skips and filler tracks. And with the last minute of ‘DIg It’ being almost entirely silence, it’s easy to see how the band could have shaved ten minutes off the album and still had an equally strong—if not stronger—body of work.
And while new tracks such as the bombastic, emo-adjacent ‘Top 10 staTues tHat CriEd bloOd’, ‘LiMOusIne’, and ‘R.i.p. (duskCOre RemIx)’ are very welcome addition to BMTH’s repertoire, another of the album’s pitfalls is the fact its best tracks were released months, if not years, prior to the album’s release, making the release of NeX GEn fall ever-so-slightly flat.
NeX GEn is less of a misstep and more of a sign of Bring Me The Horizon’s ambition. However, with two instalments still left in the Post Human series, the band is sure to keep evolving and experimenting as they have done all these years and continue to reach new heights.
Get ready for a night not to be missed night in Bristol this June.
Formed in Leicester in 1985, the Gaye Bykers on Acid came to fame as one of the first to fuse rocking riffs with Hip Hop beats and along with Pop Will Eat Itself became a part of the “Grebo” movement and in turn became front page news. With incendiary live shows, including a now infamous appearance at the Glastonbury festival the fan base grew.
Ahead of their time, or just out of their minds, the Bykers were the flavour of the month, which led the band to sign a deal with Virgin Records. The Bykers then went stateside, playing with the Cult at Madison Square Garden, where they impressed a watching Joey Ramone, who offered them a support slot on the Ramones’ upcoming European tour. Appearing at the new look Reading, Roskilde and the infamous Treworgey Festivals, the Bykers continued to spread their own brand of mayhem wherever we went.
Touring the UK, US and Europe, it was this hedonistic and hectic schedule that eventually led the band to finally self-destruct in 1990.
Mary went on to join Industrial pioneers Pigface, had chart success with Apollo 440, and more recently joined the new look PWEI. Kev resurfaced as G.R.O.W.T.H and later the Shed, Guitarist Tony relocated to Tokyo and continues to produce electro-acoustic tunes under the name of Tony Byker. Robber became a Techno DJ and Bass for hire playing with Surfing Bernard.
The original lineup reformed in 2016 to play the Indie Daze festival buoyed by the positive response they decided to carry on. Tony Byker the original guitarist is still in Tokyo, and his place has now been taken by Adam and the Ants guitarist Will Crewdson. (AKA Billy Boy Byker) Otherwise, the line-up is still Robber, Kev & Mary Byker.
Expect big tunes as the band continue to turn back time and play all their favourites and singles plus a selection of tunes from all of their releases…
“If you can remember it the first time around you probably weren’t there!”
Supported on the night by the fabulous The Priscillas, an all-female power pop punk/glam /garage punk band from London and local band Wyr (wy-uh), a 4 piece shoegaze band based in Bristol and South Wales. Formed in 2023, Wyr is a collective of shimmering guitars, ethereal swirling vocals, and plenty of reverb. Their main influences are My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, The Cure, and DIIV.
If you have heard of Knives, you can definitely imagine this will be one big anticipated show for Bristol. As I entered Strange Brew the room was already fully packed with around 300 odd fans rocking out to their main support act Death Goals, who were stirring the crowd up a storm with their 2 person energy that felt like 100 people. The group definitely gave the crowd what they needed to prepare for a band like Knives; running into the crowd, on the bar and really enticing anyone into this genre of music. After a quick switch over and everyone rushing to get their pints in, before we knew it all the lights turned off and the room went silent. We all knew this was the moment we had been waiting for.
Knives are a 7 piece band from Bristol who started out in 2021 and have skyrocketed over the past 3 years; starting out in small venues around Bristol, now touring around Europe on this tour ‘What We see in Their Eyes’. They certainly deserve this quick rise up after their brilliant EP that came out in 2023 called Newsounds, with one of their top hits from the EP with over 19,000 listens on Spotify. One thing that has always kept me coming back to their music and their shows are the visuals. Their music videos and visuals at their gigs always make it feel so much more special as it’s nothing you have ever really seen before, if you do anything before you see a show watch one of their music videos so you can really see what their show will bring. Their latest video they brought out is ‘What we see in their eyes’ to go along with their epic new vinyl EP.
Song after song Knives were relentless, so much passion and energy went in from every band member and you could clearly see they all loved being on that stage. Of course you can’t expect any less from the band but even after seeing these a few times the saxophone players still blow my mind on how perfectly they fit in with this heavy punk music. Even if you think this isn’t the genre you would usually listen to, go see them live and this will change your mind. They are just so much fun to see and give everyone so much life and most importantly they love their fans and all made every effort to speak to everyone after the show. Which is what it’s all about really, the connection between a band and their fans.
It’s an incredibly exciting time to be a K’s fan. Having just had their debut album, I Wonder If the World Knows?, reach number three on the charts, the band are now on an extensive UK tour. And if instant classics such as ‘Heart On My Sleeve’ and ‘Chancer’ aren’t enough to convince you the Earlestown-made band are destined for greatness, their raucous, mighty live shows definitely are.
It’s a warm Saturday night in Birmingham and the ambience outside the O2 Institute is electric. Pop music filters out from nearby bars, the buzz of chatter fills the streets, and the smell of spring is in the air. But most importantly, a seemingly never-ending queue of people wearing ‘K’s’ t-shirts stretches out from the O2 Institute.
Inside the venue, the atmosphere is even more vibrant, as fans filter in and begin taking their places towards the front of the grandiose main room. After an impossibly high energy set from Birmingham-born-and-bred The Clause, the lights go down, eliciting a zealous roar from the crowd. A ‘K’s’ sign hangs at the back, with light-up letters spelling ‘IWITWK’ (an acronym for I Wonder If the World Knows?) resting on the stage. It’s a big step up from their production at past shows and is certainly indicative of how far the band has come.
As the taunting violin opening of ‘Icarus’ starts playing, the fourpiece emerge: bassist Dexter Baker, drummer Nathan Peers, guitarist Ryan Breslin, and finally, vocalist and guitarist Jamie Boyle. As if at the head of some religious worship, Boyle throws his hands up in the air, raising a deafening roar from all 1500 people in attendance. “And I go too far always, sometimes / Icarus is dead by sunrise,” Boyle belts, as does everyone in the crowd. With the overwhelmingly loud reception the song receives, it’s impossible to believe ‘Icarus’ only came out a week before the show.
‘Chancer’ and ‘Heart on My Sleeve’ are next, further igniting the already charged atmosphere. Boyle’s commanding vocals, Breslin and Baker’s fervent plucking, and Peers’ relentless drumming effortlessly bring the ambience to new heights. Without a moment to waste, the band launch into ‘Picture’, which receives an equally enthusiastic reception from the audience.
Even in the moments The K’s are transitioning from one song to the next, the crowd maintains its unyielding energy. Unified chants of “Dexter show us your arse!” resound through the venue, eliciting chuckles from both the band and the audience. “We can’t! We’ve been told not to by every venue in the country. And there may be children present!” Boyle laughs.
With the crowd still not having seen Baker pull his trousers down, The K’s launch into ‘Circles’, an album track off I Wonder If the World Knows?, and the first to give the eager crowd some semblance of a break. But when Breslin goes straight into the furious opening riffs of ‘Glass Towns’, the crowd eagerly begin to jump up and down in time with the music as if they’d been waiting for that moment for years. With its soaring, euphoric verses and grandiose, epic choruses set to rapid guitar chords, ‘Glass Towns’ somehow manages to surpass the previous highs in the show.
‘Hoping Maybe’ evokes a heartfelt singalong from the crowd: “And I was hoping maybe, you might know how to save me,” Boylan sings, his booming vocals resounding through the high-ceilinged venue. Accompanied by an acoustic guitar, the tear-jerking ballad reveals a different side to the band, but one that is equally compelling as the explosive and energetic tracks that put the band on the map. ‘Throw It All Away’ (Jamie’s favourite song from I Wonder If the World Knows?) and ‘Lights Go Down’ provide similar respite for what is – at this point – a very sweaty crowd.
It is well documented that The K’s have established their name through their ferocious live shows and their down-to-earth, honest interactions with fans. Taking the time to meet eager concertgoers at the merch stall after each show, replying to users on social media, and even occasionally going out for a drink with fans, The K’s reap the rewards of this cult-like following during their gigs, where fans lovingly gaze up at the band and stretch their arms out as if in prayer. The sheer adoration they receive from their fans is unparalleled, and it is something many larger artists can only dream of having.
With not a moment to waste, whoops and cheers set the stage for ‘No Place Like Home’, during which Breslin seizes the opportunity to lean into the crowd, contorting his body to play his guitar behind his head, welcomed by hands reaching out to support his torso. People are panting, pints have been spilt, and sweat drips off every surface imaginable. As the crowd catches their breath, Breslin and Boyle come on for an encore with the piano ballad ‘Valley One’.
“This is one of our favourite shows we’ve ever played, Birmingham,” declares Boyle as he stares out in disbelief at the amalgamation of limbs, ‘K’s’ t-shirts, and grinning faces in front of him. A soulful cover of The Pogues’ ‘Dirty Old Town’ paves the way for ‘Sarajevo’, where one last push propels the crowd into a violent, intense frenzy. The show is over, but the enthusiastic chatter pulsating through masses of invigorated fans seems to indicate it won’t be the last time they will be seeing the band.
With their infectious live performances, a healthy serving of talent, and good, old-fashioned hard work, it’s easy to see why the band are taking the UK by storm. Having recently sold out the main room of Manchester’s O2 Academy and now with a coveted Reading & Leeds main stage slot on the horizon, the band show no signs of stopping. In fact, I’d even go as far as to say The K’s are a name we’ll be seeing on festival lineups for years to come.
TrueStyleMusic 