Earlier this year, Sea Girls released their stunning second album, Homesick. Their UK headline tour of the same name saw the London four-piece stop at Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse on Saturday night, where they delivered a set of biblical proportions.
Kicking off proceedings with the anthemic ‘Damage Done’ from their debut album, the band set the tone for the night ahead, before launching into ‘Lucky’. With its delicate lyrics that were influenced by Henry’s Great Grandfather’s time in the Second World War. ‘Lucky’ perfectly demonstrates frontman Henry Camomile’s talent for writing deeply personal lyrics. Another track that showcased this was ‘Friends’, with poignant lyrics that pay homage to friendship and had people embracing throughout the venue, the light-hearted track oozes with the youthfulness that runs through the band’s music.
The indie four-piece ploughed through a set of shimmering indie tracks – including ‘Ready For More’, ‘Violet’, and ‘Falling Apart’ – that received a rapturous reaction from the crowd, who knew every single word. With people on shoulders and circle pits galore, one of the few times that the energised crowd mellowed was for a stripped-back rendition of ‘Lonely’. With its punchy guitar and emotive lyrics, the nostalgia filled ‘Lonely’ orchestrated one of the biggest singalongs of the night; “I get a little bit lonely, when I’m not with you.”
A particular highlight of the night was ‘Sick’. With lyrics that cover the pressure of the world in lockdown, it’s easy to see why it resonates well with fans, both as one of the strongest tracks on Homesick and in a live setting. With impressive riffs aplenty, the melodious track highlighted the talents of bassist, Andrew Noswad and guitarist, Rory Young. The band have no problem transitioning from music that delves into deep issues like ‘Sick’ into tracks of a lively nature that send the crowd wild and this was the case as they exploded into ‘Do You Really Wanna Know?’
It’s evident that the band’s fans mean everything to them and Henry made the effort to engage with the crowd on multiple occasions during the set, reminiscing about their earlier gigs at venues of a more intimate nature, including the Deaf Institute. Ending the main set with the cathartic ‘Paracetamol Blues’ , the band returned with one of their earlier tracks, ‘Daisy Daisy’‘ – a tribute to the long term fans who’d followed their journey to where they are today.
The band rounded off their euphoric set with guaranteed crowd pleasers ‘All I Want to Hear You Say’ and their debut single, ‘Call Me Out’. O2 Victoria Warehouse is a venue notorious for being a cold and open space, something that wasn’t a problem on Saturday night as Sea Girls heated the place up with a fiery power performance.
Sea Girls Homesick is out now via Polydor Records
