Review: Two Door Cinema Club @ Sound Control, 05/09/12

Sound Control has fast become THE venue in Manchester to catch the hottest bands showcasing new album material. We’ve had The Maccabees and Maximo Park both choosing to unleash their new albums here of late, and Wednesday night saw the turn of Bangor boys Two Door Cinema Club. 

It comes as no surprise that the gig sold out in a matter of minutes, with everyone eager to catch the young guns in intimate surroundings. A rare pleasure, and one that will be even rarer now their second album has since secured a prestigious second place in the charts. They’ve also announced a full UK tour in 2013, taking in the dizzy heights of The Apollo and Ally Pally amongst others.

Tonight’s show served as a ‘take stock’ moment; the beginning of a new chapter for a band who have worked tirelessly touring the world ever since the release of their debut ‘Tourist History’ back in 2010. 

Whereas they started out as boys - not long having left school - fresh faced and naturally a little naïve, they’ve now experienced far more than many bands do in their entire career, visited far flung parts of the world and seen all the highs and lows that go with the industry. And this is most evident in new album Beacon. To call it a ‘coming of age’ album would be far too clichéd and insulting, but it definitely bridges a gap from the ever upbeat, frenetic, party themes of the first album to a more simple yet intricate, meandering sophomore. 

That’s not to say Beacon isn’t upbeat or fun - it sure as hell is - and as tonight proved, it too can ignite considerable party vibes, which in turn ignite considerable amounts of sweat.

Support came from Citizens, a high-jinxed London five piece who cordially warmed up the already giddy, surprisingly diverse crowd. As soon as the lights went down, the room literally ruptured with screams not too dissimilar to those witnessed down the road at the MEN Arena in the boy band heyday. 

Out came a sea of camera phones, and as a bright light descended on the stage the ever gracious Sam, Kevin and Alex made their way onto it, launching into one of Beacon’s stand out tracks ‘Next Year’. With an instantly infectious chorus, it’s disarmingly simple with an absolutely killer melody. Not overworked or complicated, the charm came from the understated yet affecting lyrics charting the difficulty of being on the road and missing out on things back home – a sentiment these boys know all about. With fizzing guitar and flurrying bass lines, the tightly hewn instrumentals perfectly showcased the journey they have made on this new record.

Ebullient juggernaut track ‘Undercover Martyn’ followed, the track that arguably started it all. I quickly found myself reminiscing about the first time I saw them, in The Deaf Institute, attending purely off the strength of this track alone. Impressed by their sheer invigorating live performance and general feel-good factor, I’m happy to say that the track still fires on all cylinders over two and a half years later, the tinkling guitar and melodic up-scaling, irresistible as ever.

The blissful and bombastic ‘Do You Want It All?’ and ‘This Is The Life’ followed, with Alex’s vocals drowned out by the sheer volume of the crowd’s own rendition. You could forgive them for being a little tired and bored of playing these tracks by now, but they made sure they blustered with reinvigorated force, turning a usually boring Wednesday night into something quite special.

Bass-heavy thwomping from Kevin Baird was a constant throughout, effortlessly rhythmic, damn right amatory, fluid and dreamy. ‘Wake Up’ providing the seamless example of his increasingly evolved, mature and sophisticated output. Nimble fingered Sam Halliday coyly captivated throughout with his perky riffs and glitchy, sprightly guitar playing. ‘Spring’ proved to be entrenched with his best work, the glittering buzzsaw guitar and convoluted dance-driven hooks spiralling into something more complex and curious. 

Both Baird and Halliday appear to be exploring new tangents in their playing, and the interplay between them coupled with Trimble’s raw yet saccharine vocals make for a formidable partnership and a gloriously technicolour set. Not forgetting the added vigour brought to proceedings by Ben, their session drummer. His shunting, euphoric, regimented drums, fused everything together eloquently.

New single ‘Sleep Alone’, fresh from the festival circuit, sounded just as anthemic in a small room as it did back in Leeds with a tent full of thousands. 

Something which has always struck me with Two Door: no matter the venue, no matter the size crowd; they always deliver a thoroughly professional, impassioned performance with oodles of energy. They also seem very authentic in the sense that they don’t overload you with on-stage inane rambling and there’s a certain sincerity in everything they do say, always making a point of thanking everyone for coming down, for buying their records and generally supporting them. Usually you feel bands are obliged to say these things, they’re going through the motions somewhat, not in Two Door’s case. They’ve made no secret of the fact they know their escalated success has been down to the fans. They’ve not always received great backing from the industry, and they’ve definitely had to prove themselves. Their attainment and exposure serves as a massive two fingers to all those who didn’t believe they could do it.

Hot from his magical Olympics performance, Alex Trimble’s vocals have really come into their own – harmonious, tentative and honest throughout, the new slightly emotive lyrics allow his more delicate and brooding vocal credentials to shine through.

An encore commencing with the sumptuous sky scrapingly squealing ‘Someday’ and show-stopping accustomed set-closer ‘I Can Talk’ sadly saw the party come to an end. Given the cloud of sweat and heat that appeared to be looming above our heads it was probably a wise move before anyone (me) passed out. They did however make sure that they left us on an almighty high; ferocious head banging, elongated ‘ah-oh-ah-ah-oh’s and dizzyingly jaunty guitar, all beautifully orchestrated with a multitude of strobes. Sonically and visually, a perfect ending.

It’s a given that the future is incredibly bright for these young men, you only have to look at their touring schedule for the next year to see that things aren’t about to calm down any time soon. I for one couldn’t be happier for them. They’ve never craved the notoriety, never played up to any indie stereotype and they’ve never been afraid to put in the hard work. However, I do hope that the chorus in ‘Next Year’, “darling, I’ll be home for next year” reigns true, as I think by then they might need a little rest - world domination is pretty tiring don’t you know?

Words: Michelle Lloyd 

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