Electro-Pop Pomp and Ceremony | livemusic.fm

The many-balconied, opulently restored interior of Koko provided a perfect platform for the theatrical climax of the NME Radar Tour.   Electro-pop princes HURTS headlined on the night, but were ably supported by the equally poppy, if slightly more rocky Everything Everything. Unfortunately we missed Darwin Deez as we were actually shooting an interview with HURTS (which will be available very soon on the LMFM site!)   Everything Everything were in full flow when we made it into the main area, already packed to the rafters with punters (and there are a lot of tiers to fill at Koko) - all of whom were eager to see for themselves the 3 bands being championed by NME this year on the Radar Tour. Everything Everything's latest single Schoolin' was well received by the crowd, who were generally in ebullient form. The band themselves were making good use of the unique space that is Koko and the light show was pretty spectacular (to be fair to NME, they put together a state of the art sound and lights rig for all three bands). To my own ears I have to admit that despite all the frenetic, feral energy on stage, I didn't feel that Everything Everything had anything new to offer and one of my fellow punters summed it up by suggesting that the last 3 tracks all sounded very similar (in fact we mistook the current single a few times!) However, we were in a minority and the crowd gave them a rousing send off. As I said, the lights and energy were fairly impressive, and to be honest that's half the experience.  

Having interviewed HURTS earlier I had been struck by both their maturity AND their breadth of musical influences (as well as their obvious musical talents). Having played in various incarnations both together and separately in other bands, Theo Hutchraft and Adam Anderson have had plenty of experience in honing their live presence - only playing the 'right' gigs for their sound and delicately crafting every nuance of their performance. From the moment the curtain lifted (it was that kind of entrance) the atmosphere rolled off the stage in the same way dry ice would have billowed out at a 70s rock gig! Silver Lining is a classic opener in every sense, showcasing both the soaring vocals, the powerful keyboards ... and also the entirely appropriate addition of an operatic backing singer whom, with the innumerable ostentatious balustrades of Koko's, only served to highlight the pomp and ceremony of this electro-pop tour de force.   The rather truncated set - which also consisted of songs of calibre such as Wonderful Life, where the early-80s pop influences were more apparent - ended with the forthcoming single, the stylish Better Than Love. Again this was perfectly positioned and executed, with Theo's vocal presence reaching its peak and powerfully filling the venue from the 'Gods' to the stalls. The soundscape of HURTS has to be experienced live, as it really filled every multi-tiered level of Koko with the vocals floating theatrically over the atmospheric synths, pounding drums and intricate keyboards.  

There are some obvious comparisons to early 80s pop acts and some less obvious. The whole style of the band has been carefully thought through from their haircuts, to their sharp suits, to Theo's trademark comb which he twirls round his fingers. However one thing remains, HURTS are definitely a commanding presence live and with the right kind of environment they are breath-taking. If they can take this level of performance to their upcoming festival slots over the summer they will definitely be a highlight of 2010.     

The single Better Than Love will be released on 24th May 2010 - For more info about HURTS watch the exclusive interview with Livemusic.fm: http://livemusic.fm/news/livemusicfm-interview-hurts