Everything Everything, One Of Britain's More Intelligent Bands, Hits Somerset House

Everything Everything are one of Britain’s more intelligent bands. Unlike their contemporaries, the Manchester quartet don’t clutter their lyrics with anecdotes about getting pissed and trying to neck people. Instead, they do something far more interesting.

Take 2015’s Get to Heaven, their best album yet, as an example. With its violent, dark themes and discussions about politics and the nature of humanity itself, Everything Everything set themselves apart as a band that are willing to try and discuss intelligent, complex ideas with fans.

Unfortunately, the crowd at the sold out Somerset House gig just didn’t seem up for it. After ‘Regret’, one of the highlights on Get to Heaven, frontman Jonathan Higgs thanked the crowd for singing along. You got the feeling that he was just being polite – the crowd were as good as mute.

There were some cheers later for an “old classic”, ‘Cough Cough’, which was introduced by Higgs, saying: “I almost had to cancel tonight because I had a terrible…” before they launched in.

Everything Everything, and especially Higgs, were trying their best to put on a good gig. As the sun went down, the light show finally got to show itself off and the whole of Somerset House, now submerged in violent reds and deep blues, looked pretty stunning. The band then launched into ‘No Reptiles’, a now infamous track for its bizarre lyrics “It’s alright to feel like a fat child in a pushchair / Old enough to run / Old enough to fire a gun”. It’s fun on record, and it’s even more fun live. Building and building, the track was reaching a fever pitch. But then it cut out. You found yourself wishing that it had been extended further for the live show. 

Swapping out their grey overalls for vibrant orange and reds for the encore, the group finished on the huge ‘Distant Past’ and the crowd at last threatened to get moving, but they never matched Higgs when it came to energy. It might seem like we’re going on about the crowd in this review too much, but they’re an essential part of the gig. If everyone else in attendance just isn’t up for it, the whole experience goes flat. It brings up an interesting point about gigs that we should talk about another time – if the crowd are flat and unresponsive, who’s responsible? The artist, the audience or both? 

This wasn’t a showcase Everything Everything gig. While they’re inventive and provocative on record, the group’s live show, on this occasion, didn’t quite wow you in the same way. But don’t let that put you off. Everything Everything can and will be putting on special performances across the summer and beyond. Make sure you check them out.