‘Never Before’ (if you’ll excuse the pun) has a band from the other side of the world slotted in so perfectly into the indie scene of the North of England. DMA’S - the honorary Northerners, who actually hail from Australia - finally brought their seminal third album The Glow to our shores with a colossal UK tour that climaxed with two sold out nights at O2 Academy Leeds.
The reports from Manchester and London’s Alexandra Palace were outstanding. Tales of the best shows of their lives, and of frontman Tommy O’Dell’s voice levelling up to unprecedented heights, were proved incredibly accurate as the band stacked the first part of the set with new material. Matt Mason’s lead tone roared through ‘Dawning’ after the crowd was sent into pandemonium during ‘The Glow’, a mighty release of pent up emotion after such a long wait to hear the track live.
Two offerings from their surprise EP I Love You Unconditionally, Sure Am Going To Miss You came in the form of the epic, nostalgic ‘We Are Midnight’ and the sombre ‘Junk Truck Head Fuck’. In a genre where so many fade into mediocrity, the songwriting ability of these three talents has risen to new heights on each occasion, with their sound a distinct but direct evolution of their dearly loved earlier work.
‘Delete’ and ‘Silver’, as expected, saw the crowd take control with perhaps the loudest sing-along the Academy has seen in recent history, yet it was ‘Hello Girlfriend’ that stole the night. Sounding absolutely gigantic in the flesh, the pounding drums and driving rhythm makes one wonder why the glorious track was not released as a single.
Which brings us to the inevitable climax of ‘Play It Out’ and ‘Feels Like 37’, two tracks that epitomise why DMA’S are such an unbelievable live band. Mason’s enormous tone transforms the room into a stadium, and the magnificent instrumentals of these two tracks in particular solidify just why DMA’S will soon be filling arenas and stadiums all over the UK, inheriting the void left by the megastars of the North who came before.
By Rishi Shah
18/11/2021