To complement the release of their third studio album Get To Heaven, alt-pop act Everything Everything embarked upon a European Tour, stopping in Cardiff. It was announced shortly before the gig that Swn Festival pass holders would be allowed to attend, a sweet unexpected deal for them.
What makes Everything Everything special is that they are new, they are here, and they are now, but they embody traits of the best acts from the 20th century; I’m overwhelmed by the self-described ‘Horror Bible’ lyrics, written whilst front-man Higgs struggled through the depths of depression, reportedly addicted to rolling news coverage. These unusual words are accompanied by beautifully arranged rock and backed by the advantages of contemporary synths and DAW software. One hears influences by Talking Heads, Kate Bush, Manics, Depeche Mode and even Enya skillfully blended with 80/90s trance. It makes Higgs, Pritchard, Spearman and Robertshaw true auteurs, blending the old with an original twisted new. The impressive live set transferred very successfully, building up to the stronger tracks like ‘Cough Cough’ from the second album Arc and the recent single ‘Distant Past’. Overall the gig was a gradual crescendo and they ended with a fine encore including the great ‘Spring, Sun, Winter, Dread’ before settling on the more subdued ‘No Reptiles’, a stinging critique of today’s quite useless politicians. The vocals were impressively performed live; these songs jump from tenor to falsetto in the space of a beat and are not easy to sing live, especially over complex lines of music on instruments. The harmonies also worked very well and it was obvious that the band have a great rapport with each other.
You may get the impression that this band haven’t quite come to terms with how much power their music has over their fans. They are very well-rehearsed, ooze musicality and are tightly competent. We would hope that they can put more confidence into interacting with their audience, and that’s my only criticism. Despite this, it was a highly enjoyable performance, which displayed musicality and excellent skill. It must be difficult when most of the front row is made up of people more interested in filming than watching. Generation Z seems to be all about how things look as opposed to how things are. Put down the phones and dance kids!
The night opened with a performance by Stealing Sheep, who deserve a mention. Interesting and succinct they are an electrical harmonic-visual treat. They perfectly complimented the lead act and are certainly a band to keep an eye out for; ethereal musical women who briefly owned the stage.
Everything Everything deserve the critical acclaim they’ve received and we hope to see them in action high up on the bill at a great festival like Green Man next year; they really are quite inspirational.
