I’ve got to admit that I’m a little late to the party when it comes to Atlanta, Georgia’s Manchester Orchestra.
I remember that a friend of mine recommended them at university. However, this was at a time when my Spotify account saw more action than it ever has or will, and while I appreciated them, they got a little lost in the maelstrom of bands I was discovering. Upon later delving into the back catalogue of Brooklyn singer-songwriter Kevin Devine, I discovered Bad Books, his collaboration with MO frontman Andy Hull, and felt compelled to give them another spin.
One listen to latest album, The Million Masks of God and previous effort A Black Mile to the Surface and I was under their spell. Hull and co seem to have really hit their niche, which can best be described as stadium rock for sad indie kids. It’s the sort of stuff that you can only really do justice with the word ‘big’ – big choruses, big production, big emotions. And with this in mind, their live show is a very exciting prospect.
But first we’re treated to an altogether smaller-scale offering in the form of Melbourne, Australia’s Alex Lahey, performing solo in this tour support slot. Without a backing band, her pop-punk-ish anthems are lent a vulnerable frailty and lyrics such as ‘Fuck work, you’re here everyday’s the weekend’ are delivered with an odd poignancy on a Thursday night.
Lahey seems a little nervous between songs and with good reason, it’s packed out already: ‘I’d hoped to ease myself back into touring, but then I got the call from Manchester Orchestra, and here I am by myself in front of 2,500 people!’. However, despite her apparent jitters, her set proves a worthy warm up to a band she refers to as ‘objectively one of the best bands in the world’.
With this huge praise to live up to, expectations are high as the headliners take to the stage. They open with the vocal harmonies of ‘Inaudible’ rising out of a dimly lit stage, immediately entrancing the sell-out crowd. By the time they reach the crescendo that brings it to a close, we are in raptures. And they don’t let up from there, flying into ‘The Angel of Death’ and ‘Keel Timing’, also from their latest record, before ‘Bed Head’s ‘Oh my God…’ refrain provides the biggest singalong of the night so far.
Hull allows himself a small gush over the crowd’s reaction, but otherwise his lyrics, delivered with crystal-clarity, are allowed to do the talking for him. You can tell that the band are relishing the chance to be playing these new songs live and the fervour with which they’re received by the crowd suggests that they speak plenty to us, even if the frontman does not.
Still, while the new stuff goes down well, it is beaten by the reaction to a trio of songs from Black Mile. Beginning with the pensive ballad ‘The Maze’, which really showcases the beauty of Hull’s vocal tone, they proceed with ‘The Gold’, which gets the much of the crowd in voice. This section culminates with Hull and bandmate Robert McDowell alone under the spotlights for a spine-tinglingly hushed end to ‘The Alien’.
While this is a centrepiece of the set, there’s no let-up as they continue to deliver inch-perfect renditions of songs spanning their career to date. Once ‘Telepath’ draws to a close, it’s all too clear that they’ll be back on stage for an encore.
‘Y’all are gonna love this one’, Hull proclaims before the band launch into ‘Shake It Out’, one of the night’s most raucous numbers, though it only serves to ramp up energy levels in time for closer ‘The Silence’. I am blown away by the heft of the performance, no mean feat considering how I’ve been left disappointed by frail sound at the Academy in the past. The band hammer each chord and drum hit as if they’re trying to push the walls of the venue back with the sheer weight of sound they’re producing, while Hull belts out it’s emotional final tilt.
While I expected big, this is bigger – totally colossal – and a fitting end to an electrifying night.
SOUNDS TASTY 