 
Neotropics began the evening with a very Pacebo-esque
sound, had you have shut your eyes, lead singer
Bryn could have been Brian Molko himself. They
interacted with the crowd and really tried to
use their moment to gain new fans. Neotropics
are young, and although it’s no reflection
on age I couldn’t help but think that they
would be a slightly better band with a bit more
practise, a few more gigs under their belt and
generally becoming tighter as a unit.
Lights and Clockwork were very easy on the ear,
very classic with their rock style, and very accessible.
Vocalist Isaac had an incredible voice, full of
passion and soul; it really enhanced their style
and performance. It seemed that these guys would
work well playing a festival stage; they had an
air of sunshine about them, perfect for watching
in a field, with a warm cider and your wellies
on. Bassist Harry wore no shoes on stage after
all. Their solos integrated really well into their
songs, they were not over exaggerated and they
slipped back into their tracks effortlessly.
Dead Letter Circus came on stage and also brought
more of a crowd with them. They really seemed
to be this generation’s Incubus, which isn’t
a bad thing at all in my eyes. They were energetic
and crowd pleasing, you cannot ask for more from
a live performance. They put their all into the
gig, however it was slightly spoiled by the sound;
the vocals were not loud enough, albeit not their
fault, even when moving to different areas of
the room it didn’t seem to improve. I really
can’t hold DLC culpable, this is not the
first time I have witnessed poor sounding vocals
in this venue. There was a brilliant atmosphere
in the room, there were many at the front of the
stage singing along every word to nearly all the
songs. Frontman Kim Benzie knew how to entertain,
and he did it well. Definitely check out this
Australian delight, just maybe not in o2 Academy2
. The way they’re going they won’t
be playing small stages for much longer anyway.
Dead Letter Circus - 4/5
Lights and Clockwork - 4/5
Neotropics - 2.5/5
Review By Karlie M |
