Live Review: Clean Cut Kit - Scala, London 10/05/2017

A wonderfully sunny evening greeted me as I arrived in London, tonight I was headed for Scala to see the magical Clean Cut Kid just a day or so after releasing their debut album 'Felt'.

As I stood in the queue, it was good to hear such positive things being said not just about the headliner as you would expect but also the two supports who I personally hadn’t heard much of before; I was now looking forward to tonight show more than ever.

First on tonight were Scottish quartet The Van T’s, playing a selection of Surf-rock tunes from their recent EP and singles! Twin sisters Chloe and Hannah had great chemistry on stage during such tracks as ‘Fun Garcon’ or ‘Blood Orange’, constantly staring each other down while laying down some groovy riffs over the hard hitting beats coming from the drummer Shaun. A great performance from a band that is starting to gain some serious traction in the music scene.

Kyko were this evenings penultimate band, Kyko (or Scott Verrill as he’s known by his mum) emitted some beautifully mellow vocals over countless tropical-pop anthems this evening; be it the super catchy ‘Native’ or the potential summer hit ‘Dive-In’ which got the whole crowd moving from the front to the back. If you close your eyes while listening to Kyko you can feel as close to being on a tropical island as you can be while still being in miserable old England, it’s the perfect compromise! The response from the crowd I could have mistaken them for the headliner, a large percentage of the audience singing songs from the start till finish of Kyko’s 40 minute set.

Finally it came the time for tonight’s main performance, screams echoed around Scala as the lights dimmed and Clean Cut Kid entered the stage.

Clean Cut Kid are a band that I cant stop hearing about recently, with only releasing their first album a day before tonight’s show its incredible the fan base they have already accumulated! Just having supported Michael Kiwanuka at The Royal Albert Hall just days before their headline show tonight, they must feel unstoppable! No time being wasted Clean Cut Kid blasted in to ‘Pick Me Up’, ‘We used to be in Love’ and ‘Make Believe’; the audience loving every second of it! Then it came the time to play not just my favourite song but everyone’s favourite song ‘Leaving You Behind’, Mike’s soothing vocals over the melodic-pop guitar and synths just make this a perfect song to listen to either on your own or at a party with friends! There were a few songs when they calmed the audience of their excitement with smooth ballad’s like ’20 years’ and ‘Evelyn’ that he dedicated to his band mate and wife Evelyn Halls. The Liverpool natives finished a fantastic set with ‘Vitamin C’ one of their most recent and popular tracks amongst fans and radio DJ’s across the UK and beyond; every single person in the building singing the lyrics back, I saw a few big smiles from Mike & Co as they witnessed the level of participation from every member of the audience.

A smashing show from all three bands, The Van T’s and Kyko I will be listening to a lot more after tonight’s stellar performance and of course I can’t wait to see what the rest of 2017 brings for the one and only Clean Cut Kid!!

Words and Photography By Joe Dick