It’s been a long time coming but Joyce Manor are finally back in the UK.
Their stop off in Leeds was at The Key Club, Leeds’ dedicated rock venue since The Cockpit closed down- a place that was certainly built for intimate shows like theirs.
Great Cynics were first up and front-man Giles frantically bounded from side to side, like an overexcited metronome, as he belted out in unison with bassist Iona, making full use of those duel male-female vocals.
The band promotes a few new numbers that sees heads joining in to the infectious indie-punk melodies provided by the trio.
‘I’m not looking for attention, I’m just trying to make something from this connection’ were the final words Giles sung to applause at the end a great opening act.
Michigan’s sweethearts Cheap Girls were the main support, with the vocals of Ian Graham incredibly distinctive and filling the cold air in the basement room.
Another trio with similar vibes to, and potentially an influence on, Great Cynics, the band carried on with indie-punk hits that bordered on power-pop-all grooving, catchy and easily dance-able.
The songs from their latest release, Famous Graves, feature prominently in the set list, showcased to the crowd who enjoyed but seemed a little shy in response while awaiting the headline act tonight.
With three albums and a handful of EPs, there was lots of material that fans would surely want to hear from Joyce Manor.
Luckily though, the band have a knack for writing fast paced punk fuelled songs and so flew through many crowd pleasers.
The longer devoted fans in the room would have been reeling off their lists in their mind but were not even given time to applaud as the quartet leapt into another intro.
Energy in the room increased in the front half of the room as fists pumped in the air and voices were carried back and forth between band and crowd-there was plenty to grasp onto and the crowd were definitely left satisfied.
It was an enjoyable night of a well put together line up, but if the success of their latest album Never Hungover Again is anything to go by then Joyce Manor should probably be playing to a bigger crowd next time.
