Live Review: Normandie - O2 Islington Academy, London 24/10/2021
After their packed set at Slam Dunk, and the incredible interview with lead singer Philip Strand, the obvious next step was attending their sold-out, upgraded and sold-out-again London headline show at O2 Islington.
The Heavy Music Award ‘Best British Breakthrough Act’ nominated Caskets were up first, the five piece racing across the stage with their cathartic blend of metalcore and rock, while Matt Flood’s soft vocals intermingled with his desperate screams. The crowd, steadily growing over the course of their set, seemed captivated by the Leeds quintet as they played a mix of songs from their recent debut album, Lost Souls. Their set wasn’t without their mishaps — with Matt accidentally throwing his microphone into the crowd, momentarily stunned by his own excitement , during Lost In Echoes— but that just reflects a band taken aback by the hundreds of people shouting their songs back to them, particularly with early single Glass Heart. Which was a godsend for Matt, with an early admission that his voice was a little raspy (not surprisingly for one of the first shows in two years) — and a brilliant sign for the band’s inevitable rise.
With the brunt of their discography emerging over Lockdown, you would be forgiven for not knowing who they are — but with the tightness and talent on display, that won’t last long, particularly with their upcoming support slot with the metal powerhouse Crystal Lake in February. The group delivered an emotive powerhouse of a performance, assisted by the surprisingly fantastic staging of O2 Islington — an important point to make after the slightly lacklustre O2 Islington2. Not bad for the first support!
Up next? Thousand Below. The American band, as well as providing some added variety by making sure that none of the three bands were the same nationality, had an added benefit — they were stupidly good. Flying straight into the set with the blistering Disassociate, the band’s performance was electrifying, with screams and bleghs intermingling with softer, pop-punk vocals as a massive pit opened in the centre of the room. Flying through the hits, such as recent album opener Chemical, the immersive soundscape Gone To Me, or the slow burner No Place Like You (although the incendiary screams in the second half of this last one left you in no doubt as to whether the set had taken a turn for the lighter.)
‘This is the moment we’d usually say to take the energy up a notch, but you guys are crazy as it is’, frontman James Deberg informed the crowd, as they broke into Sinking Me. And that’s not the usual frontman exaggeration, along the lines of ‘this is the best crowd we’ve ever had’; rather, title track The Love You Let Get Too Close saw everyone in the mosh pit on floor, for once voluntarily, in order to explode; and that’s just a hint of the chaos.
Finally, the band scaled it back a little with closer Alone (Out Of My Head) — a little lighter on the screams as the band leaned a little heavier into a more pop-punk style. Yet this ended up being a perfect choice, as it let the band lead the crowd through some anthemic, crowd-wide choruses. The perfect way to end a perfect set.
Talking to everyone around me during the calm between the sets, it was interesting to hear what had enticed people to go to the gig. There were people there just for Caskets, who have only exploded in popularity since their debut. There were people there just for Thousand Below, who hadn’t been in England since 2018. There were ever a fair few who had not even heard of Normandie, let alone knew any songs. Of course, there were a lot for Normandie, and a lot who were there for all three — as expected — but the gaps were there.
All this indicated was that Normandie had unknowingly, or perhaps intentionally, created a mini tour that represented the best of modern rock, hand-picked from all over the world, that meant the band was an idyllic haven for anyone looking for some Sunday-night chaos.
Speaking of Sunday-night chaos, it wasn’t long before the band of the hour rocked up. With Philip simply oozing class in a toned down version of a pinstripe suit, and ecstatic smiles plastered on their faces, Normandie had arrived. Breaking straight into Babylon, backlit by bright blue lights, the band seemed as excited as the crowd, basically everyone in the room screaming out each and every word, and here, early on into the set, Philip began to display the fantastic vocal range which only helps cement the band’s notable talent as he roared his way through the recent album’s opener.
Quickly after — no time to rest, this is a gig after all — “London you’re so loud and you sold the fuck out”, rang out over the crowd from the almost maniacal lead singer; meanwhile, some pounding drums led into the slight instrumental echo of Jericho which quickly began to pierce the room. “You know that this is the biggest show of the tour right? Then you better fucking act like it.” The crowd seemed almost offended with the gusto they took to moshing, as if the question was an affront to their energy, an insult to their dedication.
Cue Ecstasy from the band, as the first non-Dark and Beautiful Secrets pervaded the room, and ecstasy from the crowd, as it was quickly followed by early crowd favourite Awakening. Here, the opening tones of Awakening and the flashing red lights which beamed over the crowd seemed to signal the first crowd surfers of the set, but certainly not the last, while both tracks upped the ante, as if daring the crowd to try harder. And the dares kept coming, as Philip even began to taunt the crowd — “you guys are the biggest show of the tour — you know what means right? You need to be the loudest”. As if the sheer sheen of noise and sweat rising from the near-thousand strong room wasn’t enough!
Yet Philip’s tongue-in-cheek playing with fire gave way to fun. As Holy Water began to play, earlier billed as the hardest song to sing on Dark and Beautiful Secrets, someone from off stage ran to give Philip a phone so that he could FaceTime guitarist Håkan’s girlfriend and show her the beaming faces of the London crowd. Connection issues aside — likely surprising no-one — the emotion on display made the track as wholesome as it was blisteringly good.
Here, the band have a choice to make. After disclosing in our interview that the band have two sets, Holy Water signalled the branching choice: what do the band fancy? (Comparatively) heavy or (comparatively) light?
Well — light songs are lovely and all, but there’s nothing like a nice heavy mosh. The band seemed to agree, as they tore into the deep cut of Fight, and the mosh crater opened up — a pit is too light a word, at least in proportion of the crowd.
“I do not want to see these pits opened”, Philip admonished the crowd, while miming a parting sea; that’s one way to get around not being allowed to incite pits. Not that he had a choice, as they quickly followed it up with the thumping Dead.
The second half in particular saw Philip strutting around the stage like he owned it — which I suppose he did — shooting cheeky grins to the crowd between breaths while strobe lighting flashed over the crowd. “I want this place to explode”, he ordered, before the final act of the heavy set crawled into place, the lofty and almost industrial Renegade.
Then, normal service resumed. Or at least as normal as Normandie get; and, with the demand that anyone will beer needed to spill it in the next song, the ‘jumpiest in the set’, and the call for some moves echoed over the throng of people, the silky smooth Swede finally got a chance to show off his dancing — and *finally* took off his coat. With how warm the venue was, the fact that he had lasted that long alone was impressive.
Here came a moment of contemplation.
‘Can I be serious with you London?” Philip asked, for once with a stark solemnity. “I want to have four minutes for a song that’s very special to us.” This song, the emotive ‘Atmosphere’, seemed to take the crowd off guard. “One of the things that really caught me off guard was that the suicide rates have gone up by four times over this pandemic”. This harrowing statistic, which I hadn’t heard before but which seemed depressingly true, made the song even more poignant, especially as the band dedicated it to a late friend who had taken his own life over the pandemic. The instrumentals, understated to allow Philip’s pained vocals to really take centre stage, were delicate in execution, leaving Philip’s vulnerable, almost defeated delivery to shine through
After this emotive interlude came the band’s ‘final’ song, Collide. This song in particular gave Philip’s pipes a run for their money, as each chorus was breathtakingly belted over the adoring fans; and, as the cathartic track came to a close, the band left the stage.
But not for long, as furious cheers brought them back on for a ‘surprise’ encore. Who’d have thought that the band, who still had two of their biggest songs un-played, would come back on?
Cynicism aside, the band certainly deserved a precious few seconds of rest and a drink after that explosive set — and they still had three left!
First up came the almost electronic Thrown in the Gutter, about rising triumphantly from the depths — a depressingly perfect metaphor for the entire live music industry, as much as anything else. In that packed out room, live music truly had risen.
Then, Hostage took to the stage, a brutally honest song about panic attacks and quite literally being a hostage to your own mind — again, a track about being trapped in your own head, unable to do anything, seemed depressingly relatable after the past two years.
Finally, to the shock of no-one, came the rebellious, call-to-arms rock anthem of White Flag. With Philip’s voice flitting between throat-wrenching screams, delicate falsetto and an almost seething rage, the anxious, staccato-esque drumbeat from Anton and the ever-present guiding guitar of Håkan seemed almost an afterthought; but the three together produce a song tailor-made for live shows.
To prevent any further calls of ‘one more song’, the house lights quickly began to illuminate the sweaty room, and the speakers rapidly began to play your standard gig venue music. Just like that, the night was over. The three fantastic sets were done and dusted, the three bands on their way up North for their show in Birmingham. But I can’t imagine the night will have been forgotten in a hurry.
Words by James O’Sullivan
Photography by Kevin O’Sullivan