Keyside Live At The Bodega

Words: Tom Gensler

Photos: Luke Brennan

The UK has a very promising young indie band scene, which I like to think of as post-

britpop. It's often found in the form of four or five-piece bands whose sounds feel linked,

connected in lyrical content and energy, drawing off acts like Blur and Oasis and even

more recent acts like The Wombats and Jake Bugg. It's exciting to hear and brilliant to see

live. One such band channelling this energy is Liverpool’s Keyside, who have been making

waves up and down the country, noted for their well-defined sounds and human, authentic-

feeling lyrics. We went down to their sold-out show at The Bodega, in Nottingham, joined

by fellow post-britpop powerhouses Cherryholt and The Harbours.

A very young and very very promising act based in Nottingham begin the night. They

begin their set with What Are We Running For, which is an absolutely brilliant tune in every

way. It has an opening riff reminiscent of The Kooks or The Wombats and 2000s-like drums, something that would easily fit into the soundtrack of a Channel 4 teen comedy from the 2010s. They also radiate cool on stage, their guitars chiming and pulsing whilst their lyrics heartfelt and driving. They’ve reached a really clean and powerful live presence, and it's great to see for such a young band. However, their set has a clear highlight; Scarlet (Boys That Sing). They begin by explaining that the song is linked to Boys That Sing by the

incredible Viola Beach, who sadly died very young due to a car accident in Sweden, and

that the brother of a member of the band urged them to never remove this song from the

set-list. That really resonates and makes the song feel extra special, but even without that

it's beautiful. It has a similar vibe and a chorus that really calls back to the song, and then

towards the end the song evolves into a direct cover of Boys That Sing. It's really beautiful

and a touching and personal homage to a brilliant band who we lost way too soon. Overall,

this was a truly enjoyable set and I’m very much looking forwards to big things from them in the future.

Lincolnshire’s hottest indie exports Cherryholt graced the stage, to a massive crowd

roar. They’ve generated quite the social media buzz in recent times, with brilliant streaming

numbers reflecting this. They have a fantastic stage presence and live sound, they’re

warm-sounding, cool-looking and full of energy, and the music matches this. A stylish

combination of chill guitar patterns with well-sitting riffs. There’s a strong late-2000s feel to

this set, with bright guitars and vocals and happy-go-lucky lyricism. It's a hard-to-create vibe that a lot of effort has gone into, and it's crystal clear these guys work very hard on their music. The standout song of the set is the final song, the bands flagship breakout anthem, Irresistible. This song feels like a wind tunnel of possibility and happiness and romance; it's fresh, new and lovely in every single way. There’s a new lightheartedness, a transportation to anywhere else, that really sets it apart. The love-up lyrical content and bright guitars really make the song. This song on its own is truly fantastic, but overall this was a brilliant set and I’m excited to see more from them in the future.

They open with Nikita, which is an absolutely fantastic song. It has a very Jake Bugg air

to it, beginning with a striking riff and beautiful chill chords. That’s one very notable thing

about the band’s sound; they have this consistent vibe, the riff and clean-sounding electric

guitar, with chorus. It's reminiscent of acts like The Kooks, The Wombats, with vocal cues

taken from Kaiser Chiefs. There’s a brilliant postmodern feel to the whole set, a mutual

respect shown to the artists they obviously love and draw off. The actual song is a song of

pained love song, beginning with a girl throwing her life away to drugs and ending in a

somewhat euphoric outcry, an abrupt and inescapable grand gesture, created in the live

setting by the band screaming out the girls name, Nikita. It's a powerful and rousing

beginning to the set.

One really impressive thing about the set is just how good the guitar sounds are. The

crisp, clean and chorus-fuelled tone really cuts through, filling the room completely. It's a

really beautiful, non invasive sound that really drives the songs. It's notable on the

recorded tracks and, in all honesty, it's much better and extra special live, making the bands live set stand out. However, I don’t think the guitar does all the work, the drums have a satisfying snap that rhythmically contextualises every note and every lyric, really drawing

everything together. Their tightness as a band is really impressive and great to see.

Rhianna, Please Don’t Cry is a brilliant song, and live it's even better, with its initial

Motown beat evolving into a layered and complex indie tune. One thing that’s crystal clear

about Keyside is that their songwriting is extremely strong, and the crowd know it, with

people going nuts at every song.

Down My Way is another massive tune from the bands repertoire, and the live version

does not disappoint in any way; it's punchier, soulful and grooving. Every song they play

has this electric, room-filling feel and it's really special; it's obvious they understand their

craft extremely well in order to consistently make songs like they do. It's a joy to see and

hear.

They begin their end with the brilliant flagship tune Runaway, which they blend

seamlessly into the Stone Roses’ huge hit Sally Cinnamon. Runaway itself is a truly

brilliant tune, beginning with a promising lead riff that evolves into an extremely strong and

very resounding chorus, which converts to a fantastic second verse. The structures of

Keyside songs are fantastic too, every segment fits its purpose but together the songs

make such a brilliant sound, I love their attention to songwriting in their craft, it really

stands out to me as a truly large part of their band identity.

Overall, this was a superb set and the cap to a well-stacked and sonically sound night

of music. I really recommend seeing Keyside wherever you can; they do not disappoint at

all, and certainly have a very bright future ahead in the UK music scene.