Skip to main content

30th March 2015

Live: All We Are

Samuel Ward gets lost in the falsetto dreamscape of All We Are
Categories:
TLDR

09/03/2015

Deaf Institute

6.5/10

Literally out of nothingness, from the stage door of not only the Deaf Institute but seemingly the entire musical world, All We Are step into the light, immediately greeting the Deaf Institute’s surprisingly full dance hall with some seriously skilled harmonies. It’s also immediate that All We Are are on form, most likely helped along by the flattering structure of their tracks but signalled by the odd mess about here and there.

Early on, the band jump into their soundcloud-dwelling cover of Caribou’s ‘Can’t do Without You’. It’s minimal, super tight and damn rhythmic, making me wonder whether if, one day, bands like this could hold slots in between DJs. As long as there’s versatility, which there definitely is here, it’s only a matter of time until acts like All We Are and Caribou start climbing bills in some interesting settings.

As much as they flex themselves to cover all sonic bases however, All We Are’s set sounds pretty safe; they play around but never stray too far from their falsetto-laden path. Nevertheless, the whole thing never lulls too heavily and even the unheard songs from their debut have the crowd jiving. In-fact, the set’s pace is quite interesting, as tempo and mood swings are brought about within songs, not between. Whether that’s a consequence of playing only one album’s worth of music I’m not sure, but it certainly works.

All We Are’s encore, unlike so many pointless others, in fact presents a perfect break after fan-fave ‘Keep Me Alive’ to set up for the slowly building and more methodical finale ending in a final jam. Give All We Are some time to settle into their gigging shoes and maybe some more writing activities and prepare for some serious festival contenders.


More Coverage

Brighton art-rockers Squid return with an album marked by experimentation that simultaneously unsettles, startles and satisfies
Amber’s, Oxford Road’s newest club, brings forth cheap tickets, unreleased line-ups and a no-phones policy to bring dancers together
Indie rock band Big Society put on a brilliant performance at Deaf Institute with support from folk artist Doad
YES hosted the 25th anniversary of one of Manchester’s most exciting labels, Akoustik Anarkhy