Photo Credit: James Mirfield
After an electric performance at last summers Outbreak festival, TOUCHE AMORE showcased new material for the first time, which has since featured on their latest album ‘Spiral In A Straight Line‘. The California post-hardcore group quickly returned to please crowds in the UK with a set filled of tracks from all of their previous releases, whilst giving further new material their first live rendition.
Brighton melodic hardcore band CHALK HANDS opened the show, displaying a mix of hard hitting vocals, elegant guitars alongside poignant lyrics with new music on the horizon too. The venue was already packed out before the South Coast act appeared on stage and with a near full house standing in front of them, they relished every moment. Despite the lack of movement down the front, this certainly didn’t hinder their performance as each song was warmly received after its conclusion. Their support slot for sure gained a chunk of new fans just in time for their upcoming future release.
With a considerably more subdued approach, TRAUMA RAY delighted the audience with their grunge-shoegaze aesthetic, which is a style that shines through many of the shows Leeds has to offer. With the Yorkshire audience reacting favourably to each song, the speed adjustment is undoubtedly appreciated. The higher tempo of ‘Liftoff‘ set up the remaining nine songs perfectly, with ‘Ember‘ dipping in and out of calming moments before going full throttle again with ‘Halley‘. Ending with ‘Relay‘, the much darker setting gave the conclusion a very bleak feeling that the crowd welcomed massively.
It was only a short wait until LA’s finest TOUCHE AMORE made their stance in Leeds once again. Their entrance was eagerly anticipated by the packed venue, which came to life the moment the band stepped out from the wings. Kicking off with ‘Nobody’s‘ which got is debut run out at last years Outbreak, and has already become a much adored addition to their set list based off of the positive interaction they received. A variety of crowd pleasing anthems quickly rolled out early in the set including ‘Art Official‘, ‘Nine‘ and ‘Praise/Love‘, which all had the crowd captivated for the entire time. Frontman Jeremy Bolm leaped on to the barrier and screamed in the faces of the Yorkshire crowd, whilst those in attendance had their arms raised high and singing along to match the energy Bolm unleashed.
Arguably the most popular release of theirs, tracks from ‘Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me‘ predominantly featured on the set list, with songs from their other releases nestled in to the 22-song performance to give it the feel of a career spanning show. ‘Hal Ashby‘, ‘Disasters‘ and ‘Force of Habit‘ served as the remaining material from their latest record, with all of those easily becoming set list staples with how much energy the Leeds crowd continued to release on the night. The California quintet continued their show in to the night until ‘Limelight‘ came round as the band’s last song of the evening, capping off yet another triumphant UK return.
Taped Magazine 