Live: Drowners

Night and Day Café, 11th of October

Manchester’s very own Night and Day Café saw Drowners kick off their European tour with a classically exhilarating indie rock show to an ecstatic crowd. The band were electric, delighting the audience with a diverse combination of their debut album and tracks off their latest release, On Desire.

Whilst the new album was well received, it was the bands older songs that really saw the crowd come to life. The frenetic atmosphere only improved when vocalist, Matt Hitt, accepted a bottle of Sol from the audience and asked to have the clearly unused disco balls switched on. The balls lit up the audience and luckily did not start to spin, the thick layer of dust sitting on top of them indicating that their use at all was clearly something special. It did not matter; the lights alone added to the magic of their first night on tour.

Despite being the tour’s opening night, the Brooklyn-based indie-rock band did not disappoint, delivering a high energy, high impact performance to the sold out Café. The set list perfectly displayed the bands evolution since their first release; tracks like ‘Troublemaker’ and ‘Another Go’ showed the band’s versatility, adopting a heavier approach than their debut album, but continuing with their witty and whimsical way with words, reminiscent of early Arctic Monkeys. However, it was ‘A Button on Your Blouse’ that was truly the highlight of the show, with the audience out-singing the band and moving with fervour in the packed out venue.

By opening and closing the show with tracks from the new album, heading home for the evening ensured they would stick with me, and I was still listening to them the next day. The collaboration of their playful lyrics, versatility within the indie genre and powerful stage presence establishes Drowners as a refreshing must-see addition to the scene.