Be it the long drive from Glasgow the night before, perhaps the frantic nature of the tour or maybe it is an extended hangover from the mammoth month of January many of us experience but there is an admission of weariness from tonight’s co-headliners.
“I won’t lie, I feel pretty tired today”, Cassels frontman Jim Beck admits, it is sentiment echoed by Youth Man’s Kaila White who concedes that she can’t bounce back like she used to. However, those perceived flagging limbs do not get in the way of a chaotic show inside Leeds’ homely Brudenell Social Club.
Both Youth Man and Cassels are seeing their respective stars rise in recent months with the former signing to Alcopop! Records while the latter released their debut LP in October of last year. The co-headline tour is a showcase of two of the must-see bands on the scene at the moment.
Openers Lumer set the tone for the evening with their post-punk gloom. The Hull four-piece thrash through an abrupt set of sludgy guitar tones, haunting screams and yelps that transport us to a new romantic nightclub in a dystopian future. It is an all-encompassing performance which draws you into the angst-filled world, frontman Alex Evans’ lyrics portray. There is even a moment of mild panic as Thom Foster’s Korg synth tumbles off the stage in a moment of exuberance.
“I’m going to keep the stage banter to a minimum tonight,” Cassels’ Jim Beck lays out from the off. Perhaps it is the dry, unassuming wit of the brothers but this almost nonchalant opening makes them even more endearing. Behind the jokes there is a back catalogue rich in tough subject matters of divorce, sexual assault, rising fascism, relationships with step parents and the general monotony that comes with modern life.
The offerings from their latest LP ‘Epithet’ are on display here with ‘War Is A Really Clever Metaphor For Divorce’ and ‘You Turn On Utopia’ bringing together the technical guitar work and Jim’s shrugging vocals. However, it is the final rally of ‘Hating Is Easy’ and the particularly raw ‘Cool Box’ that bring to the fore their most emotionally-charged material.
All it takes is one huge swig of Kronenbourg for Youth Man to blow off the cobwebs and dive headfirst into their headlining set. Despite their admittance of grogginess, there are no signs of the Brummie trio holding back through the next 45 minutes. The swaggering ‘Sweet Apples’ signals the start of a frantic, relentless set.
Kaila White is constantly on the move with a swaying of hips accompanying every hook. The crowd-favourite ‘Fat Dead Elvis’ goes down a storm while there are nods of what the future has to hold with the hypnotic new single ‘I Don’t Know’. The raucous evening is brought to a shuddering halt as Youth Man bring the curtain down with ‘Skin’.
For a set of bands starting the evening with tongue-in-cheek bemoaning of their fatigue, these energetic performances beg the question – “what are they like when they’re not tired?”.
TOM WALSH