Live: Kids in Glass Houses @ Academy 1

Kids In Glass Houses
10th October
Academy 1
4 stars

After watching over 2 hours of opening acts, Aled Phillips, lead singer of Cardiff-based pop-rock band Kids in Glass Houses, saunters on stage, with the rest of the band in tow.  The atmosphere seems a little down and frankly, quite sleepy from the long wait.  However, Kids in Glass Houses waste no time in getting started.
Kicking off with the brutal force and booming backing vocals of their title track from their newest album In Gold Blood, they set a high level of energy for the rest of the set. This is quickly matched by the crowd as hordes of teens plastered in KIGH merchandise erupt with high pitched screams.

Unlike the lead singers of supporting acts Save Your Breath and Blitz Kids, who came just before, Aled certainly takes more of a laid back approach. Letting the catchy riffs of the songs ring strong, his lack of customary rock posing and crowd surfing is surprisingly refreshing, and with a mixed set of old and new material, it’s admirable to see how KIGH strike the perfect balance between their new more “mature” songs and their endless supply of familiar sing-a-long hooks which keep old fans satisfied.

You can’t help but notice, however, how Aled’s job is often done for him as he sticks the microphone into the crowd for minutes at a time, leaving half of the well-known favourites, such as ‘Sunshine’ and ‘Artrocker 1’, to be sung for him. However, all in all, it’s easy to see why Kids In Glass Houses have a live reputation envied by many. Although it took a long time for the Welsh 5-piece to start, it was well worth the wait.

Kids in Glass Houses – Sunshine (acoustic live)