Live Review: Island - Koko, London 23/05/2018

Moving up from Scala to Heaven to KOKO, it seems like ISLAND are taking over London one venue at a time and climbing their way up.

Club Kuru took to the stage as the second support act. A big venue for a smalltime band with an interesting, alternative sound. This band felt like they were on their own wavelength, projecting their sounds across the venue in a way that seemed to capture the crowd. The band’s excitement at playing this venue was clear from their broad smiles and ecstatic energy.

The venue filled up with ISLAND’s fans; I overheard that some of them have been to every London show the band have played, from Scala to Heaven to KOKO. Opening with their track, ‘Ride’, ISLAND launched into a energetic and invigorating set. I was surprised by how the band came across; they were loud, excitable and more rock than I was expecting. The last show of their tour, the band showed no signs of being tired or stuck in the monotony of repeating setlists over and over.

They were engaging and the set was filled with hair-tossing from their bassist and firey energy from the drummer. I was honestly impressed and intrigued by the set the band played and would definitely recommend going to see them when they play in London again.

Words and Photography by Max Herridge