TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB // THE LIQUID ROOMS, EDINBURGH
Two Door Cinema Club return to Scotland’s Capital for an intimate show at Liquid Rooms in support of new album release ‘False Alarm’.
TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB PERFORMING AT EDINBURGH’S LIQUID ROOMS - 24.06.2019
PICTURE BY: CALUM BUCHAN PHOTOGRAPHY
★★★★★
Making their debut on the tail end of the great age of indie guitar rock, Northern Ireland’s Two Door Cinema Club were always going to need to be a band that could quickly adapt their sonic capabilities to reflect the times. A clear progression can be heard from their debut album ‘Tourist History’ (dominating indie discos and club nights thereafter) through to their latest effort ‘False Alarm’ which takes on influences from synthpop, electronica and 80’s power pop. What underlies everything is front man Alex Trimble’s ability to write infectious choruses that sit atop compellingly constructed grooves. As what is assumedly a warm-up for their main stage appearance at Glastonbury, Two Door Cinema Club play an intimate show at Edinburgh’s Liquid Rooms to a sold-out audience.
Along with the evolution of their music, the evolution of the band’s style becomes apparent when the three members (along with the brilliant Benjamin Thompson on drums and Jacob Berry on synths as session players) arrive on stage. A band almost a decade into their creation and Alex Trimble arrives on stage as cool and nonchalant as ever with new single ‘Talk’. Despite being billed as an album launch show, the band spared no time launching into their old hits with performances of fan favourites ‘Undercover Martyn’ and ‘I Can Talk’ appearing early in the set. Both tracks demonstrated the calculated ability of Trimble and guitarist Sam Halliday in creating frantic and interweaving guitar lines whilst serving the upbeat energy and motion of the songs. Thompson and bassist Kevin Baird never fail to keep everything locked down underneath, creating powerful grooves that kept the audience moving.
In their modest hour-long set the band managed to fire through an impressive 15 songs. This says something about how short and to the point your average Two Door Cinema Club song is. Each song was as memorable as the last due to power-house choruses and convincing performances. Alex Trimble’s soft falsetto also impressively never failed to come across over the dense instrumentation. Despite being billed as an album launch show, the event served more as a reflection rather than reinvention for the most part (which is not necessarily a bad thing). Much of the set was dominated with hits from ‘Tourist History’ including ‘This is the Life’ and ‘What You Know’ with some appearances from 2016’s Gameshow (including the crowd chant inducing ‘Lavender’) and the tracks ‘Next Year’ and ‘Sun’ from 2012’s ‘Beacon’. Interestingly the band only chose the play new singles ‘Talk’, ‘Satellite’ and ‘Dirty Air’ from their new album. However. these performances received a warm response from the energetic crowd, sitting well alongside the band’s modern indie classics.
Choosing to lean on a crowd-pleasing set, Two Door Cinema Club gave fans a unique chance to experience their main-stage festival show in a reasonably small club. No part of the performance came across as being a warm-up due to their high energy and stellar performances. More than a decade into their career and the band show little signs of slowing down, hopefully being able to continue to create new and innovative pop music. However, there’s no harm in being able to reflect on the past to give the audience something they’ll enjoy.
SETLIST: | TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB : LIQUID ROOMS, EDINBURGH - 24.06.2019
Talk
Undercover Martyn
I Can Talk
Are We Ready? (Wreck)
This Is The Life
Dirty Air
Next Year
Bad Decisions
Changing of the Seasons
What You Know
Lavender
Satellite
Eat That Up, It’s Good for You
Something Good Can Work
Sun