Categories
Live Reviews

Touché Amoré – Live

London Barfly
27.02.12

Touché Amoré’s ‘Honest Sleep’ provides the most emo of emo moments tonight at the Barfly. Exceedingly earnest in a way that is both endearing and slightly unsettling, the band have a dedicated crew of followers hanging on their every word at this show.

The aforementioned offering prompts shout-alongs from the audience to the emotive lyrics ‘I’m losing sleep, I’m losing friends’. In fact, pretty much every track blasted forth tonight is met with an enthusiastic, fists-in-the-air, screaming-lungs-out kind of a reaction. Everyone present loves this band. And Touché Amoré are more than receptive to the crowd’s willingness to participate, expressing their gratitude at being there and putting their all into an energetic, if a little short, set.

There is an eerie quiet that comes over the venue in between tracks as the crowd awaits further words from vocalist Jeremy. However, listen closely and you can hear people discussing the band’s lyrical content. Nobody is going off the topic of the band tonight. If you thought the crowd was fervent during the band’s main set, you hadn’t seen anything until they return for a much-encouraged one-song encore of ‘Cadence’. This time Jeremy abandons his mic, putting him on an equal footing with each and every person in the crowd tonight, a fact that they relish and everyone partakes in one last group-voiced emotional pouring out before filtering out of the room.

Touché Amoré’s ability to hold a captive audience is undeniable. Their raw emotional power and cutting riffs make for a crushing live experience, in the best possible way.

Winey G.