Simon Rushworth
@Newcastle Riverside, April 12 2015
After four albums in five years, Lower Than Atlantis are reaping the rewards of their hard work.
The band’s eponymous album, released in October last year, featured a more radio-friendly sound and packing out Riverside certainly showed the group’s growing popularity.
To open up the support bill there was a spellbinding performance from Pvris, the Americans are playing shows here in the UK for the first time and without doubt backed up the hype surrounding them.
We Are The Ocean were up next and the Essex-based outfit rattled through an energetic set.
A huge cheer awaited the headliners as the lights went down and the Star Wars theme tune started blaring to greet their arrival.
The quartet launched into their most recent hit Criminal to kick off and backed it up with previous single Love Someone Else, getting everyone instantly involved.
Their frontman Mike Duce, clad in what is becoming his trademark sleeveless denim jacket, certainly looked the part as the hits kept coming without respite.
Two other singles from last year’s release, Emily and English Kids In America, have both been big successes for the band.
They each received big reactions and got engaged the fans in the singalong choruses that Lower Than Atlantis do so well.
Drummer Eddy Thrower introduced some faint cowbell into the equation and showed a group in their relaxed element.
Another highlight saw Duce get the crowd to boo an ex-girlfriend before Words Don’t Come So Easily, a song written about the girl in question.
That was followed up by an instantly recognisable riff from guitarist Ben Sansom to signal Deadliest Catch, from their critically successful 2011 album World Record, to finish off the initial set.
As the band left the stage and the encore shouts began, the singer returned with a request.
Duce got the crowd to create a circle in the middle of the floor and with everyone crouched around, he captivated his audience with an acoustic rendition of Another Sad Song.
He said Newcastle was a first run out for the idea and it was without doubt a high point of the show – the trick will always originate here.
The tempo was switched back up immediately going in to the hook-filled Beech Like A Tree, another opportunity to get the room bouncing.
Closer Here We Go, complete with a big chorus and Dec Hart’s heavy bassline, rounded out a solid showing.
Mike Fuller
Exclusive image by John Burrows