The Futureheads

Anyone walking past the Ballroom at Keele University on Sunday night may have been somewhat confused by the loud cries of “Oh ah oh oh” resonating from within. To those on the inside it was the sound of Sunderland’s four piece, the Futureheads.

Touring to mark the release of new album ‘News and Tributes’ dedicated to those who died in the Munich air disaster of 1958, the Futureheads have been responsible for two of the most catchy tracks from 2005, ‘Decent days and nights,’ and a cover of Kate Bush’s ‘Hounds of Love.’

The set consisted of an even mix of both new and old material. The crowd responded well to the new tracks, in particular new single, ‘Skip to the end.’ Some of the new tracks show a different more melodic side to the band, ‘Burnt’ shows a more relaxed and calm side, different to the quick and manic sounds from the last album.

However it was the older material from the self titled album of last year that really got the room jumping. The NME rated ‘Hounds of love’ as the best track from 2005, and the crowd tonight would certainly not argue with that. The catchy backing vocals tonight provided in large part by the crowd got the whole room going.

A remarkable thing with the Futureheads is that the attention is split evenly between the two guitarists Ross and Barry, and bassist Jaff. Each member putting in their own individual vocal performances and although Barry has the centre of the stage, it’s hard to ignore the other two as they bounce around. The banter in between songs keeps the crowd amused, and rather unpredictably, not one mention of the World Cup.

As they finish the first part of their set to a cacophony of noise, it’s time for an encore. Returning to the stage they burst into fan favourite, ‘Decent days and nights’ which even gets those stood at the back singing and dancing.

As they leave the stage it’s good to see that one of the bands from the recent indie revolution still has what it takes. The new material shows a natural progression yet keeps all the key ingredients from the success of 2005. With a host of festivals lined up for the summer, 2006 looks to be another successful year for The Futureheads.

FUTURE GIGS