Accompanying their critically acclaimed debut album Communion, Years & Years’ UK tour had its third date in Newcastle last week. With a pre-gig Facebook post directed at the ‘Geordie Shore lads and lasses’ promising to ‘get mortal’ in the Toon, I had high hopes for a night of energetic beats and non-stop dancing. However, I came away feeling strangely disappointed.
Beginning with the first track on the album, ‘Foundation’, I was both surprised and impressed by the strength and intonation of singer Olly Alexander’s voice. His flawless falsetto soars over the 80s-style synths on almost every song on the record and for him to replicate this with such precision at a live show is hugely commendable.
‘Desire’ was the first of the band’s popular singles on the setlist. Needing no introduction, it instantly had the whole crowd singing along with Olly and his two backing singers. Yet it felt to me to lack something. Not something I can put my finger on exactly; it just seemed devoid of a little bit of the magic I expected with such a vibrant act. All of the most upbeat and poppy of the tracks didn’t quite reach the excitement and energy my high hopes at the start of the night had envisioned.
I think where Years & Years went wrong was to perform the album almost note-for-note, word-for-word, but in a jumbled (and often less effective) order, and with a rendition of Sean Paul’s ‘Breathe’ thrown in. From a band releasing dance, synth-pop records I had expected a bit more experimentation with, and elongation of, at least the most upbeat tracks. This would have given the enthusiastic Newcastle audience the chance to get more involved, and feel less as if they were merely at a mass listening of the album in a packed out O2 Academy. We just weren’t wrapped up in the performance in the way you expect to be at a gig.
Most disappointing for me was ‘Ties’, one of my favourites off Communion. Here the band seemed unable to recreate the momentum and drive of the relatively slow tempo track but that has such a cool feel on the record. ‘Memo’, another of my favourites, however, was truly mesmerising. Olly sat down to play piano for this one and, accompanied by the less-than subtle crowd, his voice perfectly portrayed every ounce of emotion in the lyrics. This was a highlight of the night for me.
The encore was of course the band’s chart-topping single, ‘King’. This provoked perhaps the biggest reaction from the crowd, with a sea of hands (and iPhones recording Snapchat stories) touching the beams of light projecting from the stage and clapping to the beat. It was a fun, energetic end to a show that, overall, I felt lacked the oomph you’d expect from such an exciting and successful band. Having said that, however, their live performance and musical skill cannot be faulted.
Words by Frankie Vera