Bloc Party – Rolling back the years at a sold out den Atelier

Sunday night saw the return of one of the seminal indie bands of the 2000s, with Bloc Party taking to a sold out den Atelier.

It has been a turbulent few years for the band who have lost founding members, Gordon Moakes on bass and Matt Tong on drums, replacing them with Justin Harris and Louise Bartle. With the new lineup came a new sound for the ever evolving band. Their recent album “Hymns” has split opinion with critics and fans alike as they moved further from their energetic angst to a more somber, haunting sound.

Unfortunately for the band it was a somewhat stumbling start, as a technical glitch led to two failed attempts of “Only He Can Heal Me”, so instead of a third attempt they moved on looking a bit sheepish, with frontman Kele joking that “someone will be getting sacked for this hiccup”.

They continued with some technical issues with Kele’s vocals being lost and muddied by a bass that seemed to have been turned up to 11 on “Virtue”, all of this gave the gig a bit of a stuttering start.

It wasn’t until the unleashing of “Banquet” that they really found their stride. After all these years it still holds the ferocity and beauty it held on its first airing and with that it felt like the show really began. “Hunting for Witches” followed soon after, reminding us all that when Bloc Party were in their pomp they wrote some of the most exciting electro flexed indie of their time, influencing a plethora of bands as they went.

Unlike many of their peers, Bloc Party have always looked to evolve their sound on each record, which has proved divisive for some. For their sombre more introspective tracks like “Different Drugs” we saw Kele have a seat and take to the keys as they took it down a notch.

Although “Hymns” is a more restrained album there is still some space for the club escapism of “The Love Within” which translated better live than on record but still the jury is out on this one, especially when played next to “positive Tension”, which epitomises the urgency of early days Bloc party.

For the encore they decided it was take three for “Only He Can Heal Me” and this time there was no issue and a visibly delighted Kele declared “I’m happy we finally got it right”. The extended encore was far more upbeat, leaning heavily on the first few albums with “Rachet” & “Flux” before going onto one of the indie tracks of the decade with “Helicopter” then finishing on “This Modern Love”.

With the obvious distinction between their earlier work, it will be interesting to see how their fans follow them through these years of upheaval and discovery. On last night’s showing there is still a huge amount of affection for the band but how long will that last whilst they find their feet once more.

17.04.16 – den Atelier

Kodaline – Searing choruses and emotional ballads in abundance

Irish indie pop rockers Kodaline returned to Luxembourg on Friday night to play to a sold out crowd at den Atelier.

Since they burst onto the scene back in 2013 with their debut album “In A Perfect World” Kodaline have cemented themselves as one of the few marketable indie pop acts that can deliver enough melody to appease the casual listener whilst throwing in a good few hooks and choruses to catch the attention of the young adolescents.

After extensive tours following the success of their debut, the band wasted no time in getting back into the studio to record their second album “Coming Up for Air”. This produced another host of radio friendly tracks which found them once more back in the charts and notching up the airplay.

First up last night was Irish indie outfit All Tvvins who come with a fair bit of hype themselves, having already supported the likes of Pixies & Arcade Fire over the last year. Their electro tinged indie rock certainly hit the mark, getting swathes of the audience shuffling along. Their mix of melodic pop and effervescent riffs gave them an element of intrigue without being disjointed.

Kodaline arrived on the stage to rapturous applause and ecstatic screams from the audience. Their opener “Ready” didn’t pull any punches but then again that’s not what the band are about, it’s all about those hooks and sing along choruses and they have them in abundance.

“Way Back When” even threw in a good foot stomping beat to get the pace moving along nicely before a few shouts of “Luxembourg” from frontman Steve Garrigan got the obligatory cheer.

Garrigan’s falsetto vocals shone on “Lost” with the atmospheric synths enveloping his voice as the track built with the shifting of gears as it took on an electronic groove, something they moved towards on their new album.

The first note of “High Hopes” got the crowd screaming and brought about a scramble to ones’ pocket as a sea of camera phones appeared, all swaying in unison. Then the driving percussion and simple hook of “Honest” saw them delve into a grander, more complex sound which was a welcome change to proceedings.

Of course it’s fitting that they should end with the song that launched them to fame, the teary sing along “All I Want” had the crowd swaying and singing one last time.

Kodaline might have a few too many clichéd lyrics and far too many weepy choruses for some but it’s clear they connect to a huge demographic and when they can produce engaging performances like they did last night, they won’t be losing any of their fans in a hurry. On the other hand, they won’t be winning any new fans either if they fail to develop their sound further on their next album.

11/3/16 -Kodaline

Seed To Tree – Video release & concert

This Saturday the 6th of February, local indie folk favourites Seed To Tree will be celebrating the release of their second single “Until It Gets Better” with a video screening and concert at Rotondes.

Last year was a busy time for the band, releasing their excellent debut album “Wandering” to a packed Rockhal Club, before going on to play support shows with the likes of Villagers & Starsailor, as well as playing the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg.

If you’re interested in checking out one of the finest local bands around, then you needn’t look much further, it really should be a cracking night.

Places are limited so I suggest you buy them sooner rather than later!

Tickets cost €10 (including all charges) and you can buy them already at the Rotondes website at this ink: http://bit.ly/Rotondes_tickets 

For more information, check out and join the Facebook event: http://on.fb.me/1VF6CiK
Or check out the event on the Rotondes website http://bit.ly/STT_Rotondes