Review: Everything Everything at Manchester Academy 2, 21/02/13

We say ‘home city’, granted that isn’t strictly correct, but Manchester’s claimed the foursome as its own and they’ve facilely earnt their place as part of the city’s much loved musical offspring, having laid the foundations of the band whist studying at Salford university.

Since the release of their second album in January it’s fair to say that things have somewhat aggrandized for Jonathan, Jeremy, Michael and Alex. Rave reviews from both the industry and their peers, sold out gigs and a top 5 spot in the charts to boot. First record ‘Man Alive’ was something of a Marmite one; some adored its chaotic nature (earning them a Mercury Prize nomination), others just couldn’t get their head around it. ‘Arc’ indubitably bridged that gap and made Everything Everything a little bit more accessible; winning over the naysayers and claiming an army of new followers.

So the stage is set. The boys are back in town. They’re ready to raise the roof and end this tour in style… and disaster strikes. The sound desk is definitely not playing ball. Typical. But it’s Friday night and we love a bit of drama; and if anything it adds to the fervor levels, allowing for a few more drinks and suspense levels to multiply. A mere half an hour later than billed (half an hour of pure stress for the engineers I should imagine) and we’re off. 

The enveloping ‘_Arc_’ commences before they throw themselves into a full throttle rendition of juggernaut ‘Kemosabe’, complete with a million apologies about the earlier glitches. Higgs is in his element; centre stage with a beaming smile, looking out at the sea of faces in the city where it all began.

Keen to keep things moving it’s straight into the fastidious and evocative album track ‘Torso Of The Week’ along with set staple ‘Qwerty Finger’. Piercing staccato vocals radiate around the room and we’re all reminded why we fell for these boys and their arresting, velocious sound.

As clichéd as it sounds; Everything Everything really work in a live setting; they come into their own. The riffs, the choruses, the bright clean sound, it’s all incredibly rousing and hooky, definite signature crowd pleasers. Slightly skewed, jittery and joyously undecipherable in parts; Man Alive’s ‘Photoshop Handsome’ and ‘Schoolin’ have the room showing off their best antsy dance moves and ‘Suffragette Suffragette’ has everyone proclaiming about sitting on someone’s face (or sitting on the fence, depending on your level of eloquence) with added vivacity and magnitude.

Arc’s allowed for Everything Everything to demonstrate a slightly softer and delicate side to their songcraft; a more fluid and harmonious edge. Ballad ‘This House Is Dust’ with its deep intensity showcases the astute clarity of Higgs’ falsetto, and a more tentative mood. Pritchard and Robertshaw’s vocal harmonies throughout the night meanwhile add a saccharine, convoluted abetment to proceedings.

Comeback single ‘Cough Cough’ was always going to be the jewel in the crown and it’s with this that they choose to close the main set. Steeped in all its barbarous, manic glory, the room literally erupted. Limbs were flying, as were beers. Cough Cough’s charm is definitely in its simplicity. With a chant like sentiment, robust drumming from a brisk Spearman and corybantic sporadic thrashes from Higgs, it soars. Heaven knows it’s going to see festival goers going berserk in the summer months.

Despite the earlier delays, we were treated to a puissant encore. MY KZ,UR BF, arguably their most celebrated track, with its distinctive, pithy lyrics saw some pretty damn finicky hand gestures from Jonathan and a adroit change of lyrics to “Manchester you’re landing”. Word perfect; we compete but can’t quite manage the expeditious levels of Higgs’ deliverance. ‘Don’t Try’ is their parting gift. Desirous and pensive; "Don't try to hide it… 'cos it'll have you in the end" Higgs sings, and it serves as a befitting set closer. Something of a symbol for everything that they’ve achieved, it leaves us feeling most affected.

Against the odds they triumphed, well and truly nailing the ‘homecoming’ gig. A sense of pride most evident both on and off the stage; each of us charmed to have shared the special night with them. It’s always gratifying seeing a local band that you’ve followed from the start gain the success they rightfully deserve and that’s indubitably the case with Everything Everything. Manchester’s music scene has long come in for criticism, with many failing to understand that we’re not just churning out Stone Roses and Oasis clones. The likes of Everything Everything have helped breath new life into matters and force everyone to take notice again. And for that alone we should all be very thankful.

Words: Michelle Lloyd

Catch Everything Everything at Liverpool Sound City this May 

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