Review: Kodaline @ Night and Day Cafe, 26.11.12

Night and Day Café was the chosen venue for the four-piece’s first visit to Manchester, and the night was a sell out - as were all the dates on this cardinal headline tour.

In all honesty I had little knowledge of the band prior to this gig, but having read a few online articles and having watched their rather splendid videos on YouTube, something struck me; namely their instant ability to tug on my heartstrings. And as a lover of the euphoric chorus and the odd lovelorn ode, I knew Kodaline and I would make the perfect match.

The amount of plays I’ve given their debut EP since serves as evidence enough that I was acutely correct in my prediction. Having signed to RCA on demos alone and already notching up copious plays on Radio 1, not to mention over 1.25 million online hits on YouTube and Vevo; I clearly wasn’t the only one somewhat enamoured.

Opening with the slow-building, head-spinning ‘Lose Your Mind’, the band's sound is instantly warm and familiar. With vivid imagery and somewhat cryptic lyrics, they took us on a psychedelic trip with talk of butterflies, orange skies, hummingbirds and waterfalls. Convoluted percussion and labyrinthine, intricate guitar intertwined with soaring vocals. Frontman Steve Garrigan’s brooding Dublin accent and emphatic tambourine playing added aberrant substance to the growling swirl of the track.

Having supported the likes of The Cranberries, We Are Augustines and Temper Trap already, they’re noticeably at ease on stage whilst performing and despite being in the infancy of headlining, auspiciously full bodied - remaining smooth, able and robust in their instrumentation throughout the set.

‘Pray’ showcased their vocal dexterity and gilded emotion with anointed piano, acoustic, barely-there strumming and a weighty chorus. A hint of Dry The River and Local Natives shone through its purity and enigmatic undertones. Rockier nodes and magnetic guitar riffs came from ‘Perfect World’ with its perfectly crafted, simple backing evolving into something harder and more complex.

Not brazen in the slightest but somewhat self-effacing between songs; commenting about the soaring temperatures in the room, they dealt with the many requests from the female members of the crowd to whip their tops off with a coy smile. A real sense that they’re keen to let the music do the talking, and deliver as much ferment as possible.

Single ‘All I Want’ unmistakably received the biggest response from the crowd, with camera phones quickly appearing and swaying ensuing. A multifaceted, heartfelt mix of clean lines, crescendos, spanning vocals, brisk guitar and delicate drums built to create a genuinely touching imploration of love; something we can all relate to. Misty eyes were a given.

As a cover of Sam Cooke’s ’Bring It All Home To Me’ illustrated; not only can they deliver heartbreakingly poignant straight to the heart emotion, they also have sass, soul and ravishing pretty well nailed too. Mass finger clicking coupled with the surprise raw soulful essence of Steve’s voice and the sheer delight of the crowd allowing us to imagine ourselves in a down-town American jazz club - for a few minutes at least.

These four boys really do have an ace up their sleeve in the sense that they have vast appeal - they’re radio friendly, they play a variety of instruments, they write beautifully crafted love songs yet they can also soar in the pop-rock anthem category. Having lilting Irish accents and being easy on the eye also helps matters too. With obvious capability and professionalism at this still very early stage, there’s a definite sense that there’s much more to Kodaline than meets the eye and there’s a lot being kept under wraps. One thing’s for sure though, they have a very bright 2013 ahead of them.

Words: Michelle Lloyd

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