Having broken through in 2020, in the midst of lockdown, with 2 top class singles, this tour sees The Lounge Society on the road in support of their debut album Tired of Liberty. Produced by Dan Carey (Fontaines D.C., Wet Leg, Goat Girl), it’s an interesting mix of ideas that keeps you on your toes throughout.
The songwriting has matured since their first EP, Silk for the Starving which drew on the bigger headline events of a pretty eventful year, and their own experiences of growing up in the borderlands of the Pennines.
A deliberately eclectic set of influences therefore make the band hard to pin to a genre. They told NME earlier this year that is by design, making sure people don’t get the band, then move on.
That’s evident in the set tonight at Leeds’ Brudenell Social Club. While it’s good to hear the variety of influences there was a sense that it’s a little disjointed as a live set and as such it doesn’t gather the momentum that it perhaps deserves.
It threatens to get going with the frenetic energy of the album’s first single Blood Money and Remains but then descends into a slightly shouty rendition of Last Breath. There’s a tangent into a more electronic driven No Driver before the energy and engagement is restored on Beneath the Screen. Lead singer Cam Davey’s Jagger-esque swagger elicits some screams from the girls at the front. It’s wild and synthy and the most energetic they’ve been all night.
There is little to no interaction between band and crowd though, despite an enthusiastic response to the music. The space between songs is purely for changing and tuning guitars before moving into the next song.
It takes until Generation Game before we finally see some hands in the air in response to their breakout song.
Don’t get me wrong: it’s not an unhappy crowd that makes their way out into the cool October Leeds air at the conclusion. But they’re not ecstatic either. Talking to some fans at the end, they felt it hadn’t gone anywhere. As it gathered pace, so it then ebbed away again. They’re fans of the record, but hadn’t felt that energy and urgency come through in this room.
It’s early days of course, and much of their momentum was gathered in lockdown, when the chance to hone their stagecraft was cruelly denied them. This time on the road will undoubtedly propel the band forward as they continue to explore the different influences that underpin their recordings.
