Having recently released their seventh studio album, Mountainhead, Everything Everything continued their tour in Manchester. It was the first of two sold-out nights at New Century before traveling to the UK and winding up in Australia.
Support came in the form of Nottingham-based quartet The Divorce, who entered on stage to a surprisingly crowded venue early on in proceedings. A warm reception greeted the alt-country/grunge band as they launched into their first few tracks. An enthusiastic stage presence was stable throughout the set by female vocalist Tiger, who paced from left to right on the autumnal-lit stage. The lighting was minimal throughout the performance, and the sound lacked clarity and depth, which could have added to the band’s performance. Still, overall, standout tracks such as “Gears,” “Sex On The Millennium Bridge,” and “Eat My Words” got the reactions they deserved from the crowd.
As anticipation grew and the venue plunged into darkness, a huge roar greeted Jonathan Higgs and co. on this warm night in Manchester. Intense blue light filled the venue as Everything Everything launched into “The Mad Stone” to a raucous reaction from the crowd. Judging by the responses early on in the set, the feeling was that this evening could get lively.
The new album Mountainhead was heavily promoted, with “Cold Reactor,” “The End Of The Contender,” and “Enter The Mirror” being standout tracks during the evening. The crowd gladly obliged with the reactions that these songs deserve. A wall of sound and intense strobe lighting encapsulated the venue on tracks “Daggers Edge” and “Cough Cough,” where Higgs’ trademark stabbing vocal style was present.
Aside from Higgs’s stage presence and unwavering falsetto, the vocal highlight of the evening was “Night of The Long Knives” and an exceptional performance of “No Reptiles.” With phones aloft, the haunting vocals of “No Reptiles” filled the venue, and Everything Everything, for once, had the crowd still but singing every word. It was a beautiful moment to bring the curtain down on an evening of fantastic music.