Kodaline - Scala, London - 4th April 2013 (Live Review)
Friday, 05 April 2013
Written by Ryan Crittenden
Backed by One Direction’s very own Niall Horan who tweeted “Everyone keep your eye on Irish band @kodaline! Gonna be big!” back in January, by the looks of the sold out venue in London last night a lot of people seem to agree with at least one statement the boy band star has expressed.
The Irish four-piece epitomise the indie-pop genre at the moment, with backing from MTV and an appearance on the BBC’s sound of 2013 list, the Dublin act look set to make their stay in the limelight a well deserved one.
Opening track ‘Lose Your Mind’ is a psychedelic number straight from the 90’s. With a big sing-along chorus, the dreamy journey the song goes on is a great start that showcases just how tight the band’s sound is. There is nothing showy about the band who don’t ooze confidence yet look so comfortable on the stage as they work their way through tracks from upcoming debut album ‘In a Perfect World.’
With just two EP’s to their name to date, it is quite surprising to hear the heart-on-sleeve lyrics being sung back at the very impressive front man Stephen Garrigan. His fluttering vocals are ever so well supported by his three bandmates who offer simple vocal harmonies and a real atmosphere is created in the venue.
The gig’s camera-phone moment comes in the form of recent chart success ‘High Hopes’, with Garrigan taking his place at his piano the screams from excited girls in the crowd are really quite extreme. With such noise you associate with acts like the aforementioned One Direction, there is certainly a boy band appeal about Kodaline. Undoubtedly the song writing ability of the band certainly exceeds that of the manufactured acts but at the same time this Irish quartet are writing commercially viable songs fronted by a pop star looking singer.
As the relatively short set continued, Kodaline threw something different into the mix and as they made their way off stage it wasn’t to end the gig but reposition themselves in the crowd to perform a special acoustic cover of Disclosure’s ‘Latch.’ An eerie silence came over the crowd as audience members hushed each other in order to hear.
Moment of the night came in the form of ‘The Answer,’ a track from their ‘High Hopes EP.’ The brilliance of the song was helped by the fact the crowd knew the words front to back and returned the chorus with real love. Closing track ‘All I Want’ proved to be an ideal closing number; the passion not only from the band but from the audience was special and ended the set.
With the band opting not to return for an encore, it is almost certain that the next time Kodaline return to the capital it will be off the back of a successful debut album and in a much bigger venue.
Kodaline's 'High Hopes' EP is available now.
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The Irish four-piece epitomise the indie-pop genre at the moment, with backing from MTV and an appearance on the BBC’s sound of 2013 list, the Dublin act look set to make their stay in the limelight a well deserved one.
