Twin Atlantic // UEA 5th November 2012
Ellie checks out Twin Atlantic at the UEA...
Twin Atlantic see themselves enjoying a stratospheric rise in profile this week since the Spaced Out remix of their single Free was used as the official soundtrack to Felix Baumgartner’s jump from space. This got me thinking – how would you choose a soundtrack to such a pivotal event like that? Twin Atlantic may not be my first choice, but maybe after tonight I’ll be persuaded to use their music for my next jump from 39,000 feet!
Main support of the night comes from pop turned hardcore turned acoustic-folk singer songwriter Charlie Simpson. The singer makes his way onstage with a full band of seemingly very talented musicians which help to fill-out the very minimal sound of his solo album, 'Young Pilgrim'. His folk-like variations of his songs help to ready the crowd for the evening ahead and I see many people around me mouthing along to the crooning lyrics. Despite my initial impression that it would be Charlie and his guitar, his band and him do not fail to fill the not quite sold out room with their large sound. I am sufficiently impression both by Charlie’s live voice, which I must say is lovely, as by the way he has managed to tweak his tracks to suit larger rooms and a more rock-driven crowd.
What would be the best way to get a crowd going? In the case of Twin Atlantic it’s an intro of the epic sing-along, Bohemian Rhapsody – all 6 gorgeous minutes of it. This classic turns out to be very successful for the Scottish 4 piece and they walk onstage to a hyped and ready audience. These guys seem to have gone really far in a very little time. The first time I saw them they were playing the second stage tent at the tiny Hevy Festival in Kent and now they are headlining their own UK tour and having their tracks played to millions of viewers during historical events. After a great big, energy-filled start, including personal favourites of mine 'Lightspeed' and 'Human After All', the band bring it buzz down with slowed down version of song 'You’re Turning into John Wayne', which introduces a good 20 minutes of more chilled songs. Usually when bands turn down the volume for a while, the crowd looses interest, but in the case of Twin Atlantic, it just helps further create a sense of energy in the room by holding back the heavier, crazier songs and letting the room appreciate the music and the surprise cello brought in by guitarist Barry. Finally the band break the tension by bounding straight into single 'Free' and it seems the whole audience is singing along to every line in their imitation Scottish accent. Twin Atlantic’s sound is quite unique. They seem to stitch together what sounds like different songs and some unusual timings to make something bigger and more epic. This comes out well in their live sound and although at some moments I feel they are a little shaky, they seem to always bring it back and continue to deliver great songs. By the time we get to the last song of the night which turns out to be 'Make a Beast of Myself' from newest album 'Free', the feeling in the room is one of ecstasy as giant coloured balloons are thrown into the crowd and the band deliver a fantastic finish. Despite previously saying so, I am in fact not planning on jumping from space (surprise surprise!) but if I was, after tonight’s display of energy-filled songs, I would say I’d consider Twin Atlantic to accompany me.
Ellie Smith
