ANR
The Victory, London
24/05/2011

Miami duo ANR - that’s Awesome New Republic, if you’re curious – have made one of the albums of the year with debut ‘Stay Kids’, so this tour of intimate venues represents quite an opportunity. They’ve supported lesser bands at Bush Hall and Heaven, played Brighton’s indie-fest The Great Escape and have an XFM-endorsed Barfly appearance ahead of them, then that’s it for now – but all the signs are there for their return being a different story.

In this basement it’s dank, sweaty and impossibly loud – and shows like this are the single reason it exists in this form. In an hour-long set played out at a blistering tempo there’s not a dropped beat or missed note – and neither is there any let-up in song quality. The frontman of sorts, John Hancock, is surrounded by his drumkit, and he wallops the hell out of it relentlessly, displaying incredible musicianship and multitasking skills as he simultaneously sings the lead with equal vigour. It’s an ambitious arrangement and one that’s clearly taken hours of rehearsing, but by heck has it paid off. Stood to his right alongside a bank of keyboards and the like is Brian Robertson, providing the pulse and subtle driving rhythms that underpin the whole affair. The depth and detail they deliver belies the number of personnel, and outstrips the recorded versions for the most part.

Album standouts such as ‘Don’t Fear The Get Out’, ‘Big Problem’, ‘A Year of Solitude Pays Off’ and the simply astonishing title track ‘Stay Kids’ are far from short of verve on record, but with an extra shot of adrenalin they’re almost overwhelming tonight. And the sonic parallels that sometimes flash past on record prove even more tenuous live, as in reality ANR plough their very own furrow, veering wildly away from MGMT, Vampire Weekend and TV On The Radio, or indeed any other comparisons you’d care to throw at them.

Andy Slocombe