There are just two things in mind as I climb the stairs of the O2 Academy; ‘Brixton is not easy to get to’ and ‘this was already worth the trip’. The venue is a cross between a ruined amphitheater and a 1960s Dr Who set – by contrast the stage is relatively bare.
Out come Aquilo, two twenty-somethings who can’t believe the size of the audience they are looking at. This is the sort of opener that splits the crowd. Your taste for them depends entirely on the reason you’ve come here in the first place. I stuck with Oh Wonder because the distortion they create in their music makes it sound like some sort of dreamscape. Whereas many fans will see the band as a progression from indie into alternative. The latter seemed open to Aquilo – embracing them with phones aloft and torches on.
Towards the end of the set, ‘Silhouette’, the duo’s biggest hit, succeeds in warming the crowd as I can hear those around me join in with the earnest duo. That was nice, they were sweet, but now it is time for the main event.
Oh Wonder is a love story, but don’t let their ethereal tones confuse you into thinking they’re a fairy tale. Six musicians will grace the stage but just two will be remembered.
Josephine and Anthony Vander West fell in love writing their debut album almost 10 years ago. Since then they have taken fans on the journey and shared the highs and lows of the relationship through their music. The way they look at each other makes it hard not to smile. The iconic OW lights illuminate the stage and the first few notes of ‘Better Now’ have us in safe hands.
All eyes are on Josephine as she stops bounding to tell us how the pandemic nearly broke them up and it was through the making of their latest album, 22 Break that they managed to salvage the relationship.
This was the first venue the couple attended together and appears to serve as a milestone marker for the duo. A medley of their first album pacifies the crowd and the story continues…
It is not the bands biggest hit, but arguably their best which electrifies the venue. The swells of ‘Technicolour Beat’ are exhilarating and in person the duo manage to give even more to the song than they do on the recording. Now it is Anthony’s moment. After a slight hesitation to introduce the next song he is belting out ‘Fuck It I Love You’ while leaping around the stage with enough energy to charge the crowd for a series of their most upbeat tracks.
The whole show feels like a family affair. Anthony’s mum is in the audience, along with Josephine’s brother. The couple are through and through South Londoners, and the treatment of the Brixton crowd is laced with appreciation and comradery.
We are reaching the end of the show; the stage has emptied and the crowd is elated yet ready to go home. A single violinist appears before us under a dappled spotlight and the crowd becomes a choir as Josephine, now in her stunning coral wedding dress, returns alongside Anthony.
The couple are buzzing off of the love this crowd has for them as we cry out ‘Halle-halle-halle-halle-halle-hallelujah’ in unison.
I leave feeling elated and a little dazed. Oh Wonder have welcomed us into their world and made us part of their story.
Words By Catherine Woolley
Oh Wonder’s upcoming album 22 Make will arrive 22 July, pre-order the album here
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