The Futureheads

-THE RITZ, MANCHESTER-

Playing their self-titled debut album in its entirety, The Futureheads have filled out the Ritz with an eager crowd of all ages. With an album that is as quick and snappy in length as the guitar riffs that fill it, it is a concern whether they will fill the evening. But, with a recurring rhetoric in between songs of being in tune with the building – also being “relatively ancient” – they successfully fill the runtime with a snappy wit and a fun show.

Characterised by an emphasis on strong, full band vocal compositions, sung with their Sunderland twang, along with post-punk sharp and angular guitars. Everything has stood the test of time. Their synchronicity has clearly never left the group, even during a five year hiatus. The ‘Days and Nights’ riff is synonymous with the 2000s but sounds as fantastic as ever. A definite crowd pleaser, as is ‘Robot’ and ‘A to B’.

‘Meantime’ is introduced as bassist David Craig’s favourite. Having been described by previous audiences as having “a really good bassline”, that is upgraded to “a wonderful bassline” at this show, much to David’s delight. The promotion is deserved, the track is stellar tonight.

The hugely successful Kate Bush cover ‘Hounds of Love’ is met with enamoured crowd participation. Screw ‘Mr Brightside’, this is the track that should finish off indie parties around the world. With the colossal reaction from the audience in the singalong, harmonic a capella parts, I don’t feel in the minority with this opinion.

Although there is a clamorous call for an encore, there is a steady stream of those that leave following the conclusion of the excellent performance of the album many have clearly come for, their follow up albums showing to be less well known. But those that stay are treated to a large handful of newer tracks from the comeback album Powers. Extending the evening with future classics ‘Jekyll’ and ‘Good Night Out’, their mature sound is as fantastic as anything from their early 2000s heyday. However, it is the purely a capella ‘Beeswing’ from 2012 album Rant that is a surprising hit with the crowd, gaining almost as much of a singalong as ‘Hounds of Love’. Whether antique or ancient, they have aged well and hopefully will continue to play excellent music as we approach a new decade and head into the future.

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