Music / Previews
Review: overpass, Thekla – ‘Received in a frenzy’
For just £15, lucky ticket holders got to see two of the most exciting up and coming bands within the indie scene right now, on Saturday night at Thekla.
Hailing from the Midlands and formed during lockdown, overpass, consisting of Max Newbold on vocals, Indie Armstrong on bass, Jake Bishop on drums, and Elliot Rawlings on guitar have begun to build a strong, dedicated fan base in a short space of time.
Opening the show was Keo, the band formed by brothers Finn and Conor Keogh, who take the emotional resonance of Jeff Buckley and Radiohead and pair it with more contemporary sonics reminiscent of Wunderhorse and Fontaines D.C.
is needed now More than ever
Despite having only officially released their first single I Lied, Amber a week ago, they already have a real buzz around them, making them arguably London’s best kept secret.
Kicking off their set to an already full-capacity Thekla, Keo opened with two currently unreleased tracks, Hands and Roadkill, showcasing their distinctive sound completed by urgent and cathartic vocals paired with soaring, distorted guitars, sitting somewhere among 90s grunge, shoegaze and alt-rock.
Elsewhere in the set is Thorn, again a currently unreleased track, but one which sees some more ‘in the know’ members of the audience singing along, the word of mouth nature of Keo’s ascent incredibly evident, and the cheers as I Lied, Amber is introduced asserts the band as ones to keep a close eye on.
Stomping around the stage with an effortless, moody attitude, they also played SoundCloud exclusive tracks Fly and Crow, both slow, grunge-laden numbers which reach their climax at feverish cries resonant of Wunderhorse frontman Jacob Slater, before a chain-reaction chant of the band’s name starts somewhere down the front, the frontman sheepishly giving thanks as it only continues to intensify throughout the crowd.
Returning to the city almost a year to the day they played a sold-out Exchange main room in support of their debut EP From The Night, overpass graced the boat to an uproar in the audience, arms flailing from the get-go.
Opening with Be Good To Yourself, the single from recently released follow-up EP Dependent, it perfectly encapsulates the optimistic nature of overpass’ lyricsm, setting the buoyancy of the next hour up nicely.
Alright and Like No Other welcome the big crowd singalongs, which continue throughout the evening, every word chanted back to the band as though they were playing a room much larger than Thekla’s 400-cap, while currently unreleased tracks Sandman and Union Station centre around the more instrumentally-focused elements of the band’s new EP, reinforcing the gravitation away from the more generic indie-rock sound.
These two numbers allow for a moment for the audience to compose themselves amongst the madness, before catchy, guitar riff heavy tracks such as Stay Up, Right Time and From The Night exhilarate the audience.
EP track Slow is a more atmospheric, lyrically-driven song showcasing the evolution of overpass’ songwriting since their earlier tracks, and demonstrates the range and versatility of frontman Max’s distinctive vocals, yet the crowd continue to scream the words as though it were a fast-paced pop song.
Arguably the fan-favourite tonight was 3am, a single which has been released since the beginning of the band’s first UK headline tour in 2022, a mosh pit erupting in the centre of the boat vigorous enough to leave it rocking as the band launch into the simple yearning of the chorus: “I wish you’d just call me up / 3am not saying much / Just to hear your stupid love”.
It becomes very quickly boisterous from there on, every song until the end being received in a frenzy. Even the more delicate of the band’s discography, early single Other Side Of Midnight, and the eponymous track brimming with cinematic vitality, Dependent, are met with moshing from the crowd, proving that not even a change in tempo was going to deprive them of expressing their enthusiasm for the Birmingham quartet.
Closing on Beautiful, the band step back from their microphones to allow the crowd to carry the soaring chorus and to soak in the scale of the show, as arms waving in the air block the view of the stage; a passionate communal harmony coming from everybody onboard the ship tonight.
It’s a short set considering the extent of the band’s discography spanning a multitude of singles as well as two EPs, but the energy of the crowd leaves that forgiven – anymore and the boat almost definitely would’ve set sail.
All images: Katie Hillier
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