“UK’s number 1, UK’s, UK’s number 1…”
The Lathums, the breakthrough band of the moment, arrived in Sheffield seemingly with a point to prove. Following the band’s recent meteoric rise which saw them pip hip-hop superstar Drake to number one in the UK’s album charts with their debut album How Beautiful Life Can Be, the quartet really showed beyond doubt how much they deserved that title.
In anticipation for The Lathums, the O2 was busy from very early on, the huge crowd entertained early by local indie rockers The Rosadocs. Despite only catching the second half of their set, they were seriously impressive with lead singer Keelan Graney dictating the crowd brilliantly. The crowd reacted well to this too, many already on shoulders, stoking the fire that created an incredible atmosphere later in the night.
This energy was also matched by the second support, Rianne Downey. Best described as an eclectic mix of Jake Bugg and Maisie Peters, Downey was exceptional that night, ending her set with a cover of well-known dance track ‘Everytime We Touch’ by Cascada, further fuelling the growing crowd.
Then it was the time for the main event. The venue was packed from front to back, the only space in the crowd being small channels that the masked O2 workers squeezed through collecting empty cups- a stark reminder that the industry is only just reopening and still somewhat struggling. However, within the first song The Lathums showed just what everyone had been missing out on in the last year.
Arguably one of their most popular tracks and certainly the one I discovered first, ‘Fight On’ set the tone for an energy-filled and overall remarkable night. No sooner had the first riff been played that the first flare of the night was let off in the crowd, creating a festival-like atmosphere throughout the O2.
Right from the get-go, frontman Alex Moore’s enthusiasm was infectious. Flying through the first four songs, which included hits ‘I’ll Get By’ and ‘Oh My Love’, the latter recently being named as Radio X’s record of the week, Moore paused to introduce each member of the band. This was met with the first round of “UK’s number 1” chants from the crowd. This theme continued through the night; the crowd eager to heap praise onto the quartet and the band were happy to take it.
Moore jovially danced along to the chants saying: “As vain as it sounds, I wish I could listen to that forever, I’m lovin’ this.”
After that came The Lathums most famous track, ‘The Great Escape’, reworked for the album and subsequent live shows; it’s safe to say it hasn’t lost any of its previous allure. The only word to describe the delivery of the tune was special. From the energy on stage to the crowd reception, it was fantastic to be a part of. The next part of the set was absolutely unreal however.
Following The Great Escape and fan-favourite ‘This Place O’ Yours’, Moore was left on the stage on his own to conduct his customary solo acoustic set. Starting with album title track ‘How Beautiful Life Can Be’ and concluding with the first song the band ever wrote, ‘All My Life’, the short section was incredible. Following the first chorus of ‘All My Life’, Moore admitted he was on the verge of tears, clearly encapsulating the emotion of the moment and how much it meant to him and the crowd, who were on top form.
Following the acoustic section, the rest of the band returned for the first of their encores, this time playing unreleased track ‘Sad Face Baby’ for one of the first times live, which sounded immense and could be a future classic for the band. The first encore was then concluded by a particularly rousing performance of ‘I See Your Ghost’ for which one of the biggest pits of the night opened up in the crowd and yet another flare was set off, keeping in line with the festival vibe.
A short break ensued before the Wigan band returned one more time for two final songs to cap what was an outstanding performance. ‘The Redemption of Sonic Beauty’, the closing track on the album, was particularly noteworthy for Moore’s vocals and preceded the finale of ‘Artificial Screens’ brilliantly. The final song was all a bit of a blur and had the entire O2 bouncing from back to front.
And then that was that. The Lathums came to Sheffield with a lot of recent hype around them and justified it perfectly. You get the feeling that an arena tour isn’t far around the corner for the “UK’s Number 1”.
Rating: 4.5/5
