It’s easy to see why Years & Years were crowned the BBC Sound of 2015. The taste-making poll’s appetite for risk is roughly equivalent to that of a toddler’s for green veg — and there are surely no safer bets than this London trio and their chart-friendly blend of house and pop.
The band’s debut, Communion, went straight to No 1 and last night’s lively crowd gave this midweek billing a Friday night feel. In his oversized jacket and shorts, rake-thin vocalist Olly Alexander looked like he’d been taking wardrobe advice from Bez. His voice, however, is pure pop gold — a skyscraping tenor that powered slow-building set opener Foundation.
Following this, Take Shelter had a bhangra beat and arena-ready chorus while Desire sent hands clapping all the way to the bar.
As a band, the trio — bolstered here by a drummer and two backing vocals — are not over-burdened with charisma. Synth players Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Türkmen offered up their best statue reflexes, leaving all rabble-rousing duties to Alexander.
Latest music reviews
While this doesn’t matter when the tunes are as bulletproof as Shine, when the pace lagged, as on the sub-Justin Timberlake crooning of Eyes Shut, attention began to drift. Similarly a cover of Britney Spears’ Toxic felt chiefly like a set-padding exercise by a band whose vertiginous rise has outstripped the depth of their back catalogue.
But this was a minor quibble in a show with more hooks than a 12-round boxing match. And when a triumphant encore of King shook Brixton to its very foundations, you wouldn’t have bet against this most of-the-moment of bands being around for years and years to come.
Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout
