Years & Years at UEA Norwich review

Image: Years & Years

You may not all recognise the name Years & Years just yet, but you would certainly recognise some of their songs from their album Communion. After being named BBC’s Sound of 2015, the band have been propelled into the spotlight of UK Chart Top 20 status. 

For the past five years they have been patiently waiting, supporting other artists such as Clean Bandit, of which frontman Olly expresses to the sell-out crowd on Saturday night, saying they supported the band right here at the Nick Rayns UEA LCR in previous years leading up to this event.

Opening the show, bathed in red and blue neon, the first track in the set list, and coincidently on the album, ‘Foundation’ played across the room. With the first verse in acapella, the fifteen hundred strong crowd were holding onto every line. 

This wasn’t to last for long however, as for those who know a little about the band - categorised into the realms of electronica and synth pop - know their album heaves of shape-shifting rhythms, polychromatic ambience and sweeping hooks. All of which they delivered with a little help from their very talented light jock and his lasers. 

Show highlights included ‘Shine’ and the Sean Paul & Blu Cantrell cover ‘Breathe’ to which Olly pulled a crowd member up to dance on stage resulting in the pair ‘slut dropping’ to the audience.

Not something everyone would expect from your standard LCR gig, but most certainly something you would expect from the cheeky chappy and highly energised Olly Alexandar who, after watching him live, I’ve come to realise has some serious dance moves.

The penultimate song from the album ‘Desire’, described as a homage to nineties house by the band, shook the room with chunky synths and had everyone dancing into the encore.

The band dropped the recently dubbed pop anthem ‘King’ (listen above), the track the crowd had all be longing for. One last explosion of energy from Olly and co detonated across the stage with pounding synth hooks and that undeniable catchy chorus; The audience where elated.

Surprisingly Years & Years sound very true to their studio sound and from the sell-out response and the atmosphere within the venue, I believe they would be widely received again by all who were present on Saturday. 

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