Photo Credit: Maryleen Guevara
As their fifth studio album ‘Sundiver’ enters the world, Blackpool quintet BOSTON MANOR set out on a short UK tour in support of both the release and independent record stores across the country, performing a ray of songs from the record in some of the nation’s best intimate grassroots venues, with The Key Club in Leeds serving as the half way mark to give fans old and new the first taste of new material in a live setting.
The packed venue was in complete darkness as the band entered the stage, setting the mood for an intense opening of ‘Container‘. As the chorus kicked in, singer Henry Cox was greeted by matching vocals from the audience, proving that the song is a clear favourite across their fanbase. Keeping their previous release ‘Datura’ at bay, BM played ‘Floodlights on the Square‘ to keep the capacity crowd moving while ‘Heat Me Up‘ and ‘Sliding Doors‘ picked up the pace once again.
Vocalist Henry apologised for not being able to perform to his usual best due to being under the weather that evening, and would require some help from those in attendance, but his immaculate output masked that perfectly and the Leeds crowd were more than willing to assist when needed. Cox also thanked everyone in the room for supporting the release of ‘Sundiver‘, and then wasted no time in picking up where they left off with ‘Fornix‘ and ‘Dissolve‘ concluding the ‘Sundiver’ songs on the night. However, the final three songs of the evening truly brought out the raw intensity that a Boston Manor show embodies.
‘Crocus‘ and ‘Passenger‘ brought back the ‘Datura‘ songs into the set list, with the latter encouraging crowd surfers during the heavier segments as they were launched across the tiny room. BM concluded their ten-song strong set with ‘Foxglove’ to round off a welcomed return to Leeds.
It’s safe to say that, despite the love that ‘Sundiver‘ has already received, it will undoubtedly be hard to top ‘Datura‘, but for those in attendance who will be catching them later in September on their full UK tour, it served as the ideal warm-up and gives fans the chance to go all out in a bigger room next time.
Taped Magazine 