Live Review: The Sherlocks - Electric Ballroom, London 23/05/2025
The Sherlocks shake the Electric Ballroom to celebrate chart success.
Supporting The Sherlocks on their UK and European tour, London indie band Good Health, Good Wealth charm the crowd with their cheeky Streets-like sound. Vocalist Bruce raises laughter with his lyrics, “It's cushty, it's kosher, four leaves on my clover, one chat down the cafe, won’t give us no closure” in song ‘The Cafe’.
For a band who love to tour there has been a long gap, with frontman Kieran telling the NME “Feels like a lifetime ago since we were last out playing headline shows and by the time we come to play these gigs it will have been well over a year, which for a band like ours, is actually a crazy amount of time”. Fresh from high profile support slots with the Kaiser Chiefs and Shed Seven’s 30 year anniversary tour, the band head out on an eleven date UK tour culminating in Manchester’s Albert Hall at the end of May. Supporting their new album ‘Everything Must Make Sense’ released on their own Teddyboy Records, the band are in a jubilant mood celebrating their highest chart position on the day of the show at Camden’s Electric Ballroom. The title of the album reflects the state of things with the band saying “A lot of things are crazy in the world today.”
Starting the set with the title track of their new album, The Sherlocks give off a real shoegazing vibe, and seem restrained on stage. ‘Escapade’ builds the tempo and is more lively, with flashing blue lights lighting up the stage. They give off a Kasabian feel with the strong guitar riffs that early on in the set did seem to overshadow singer Kiaran’s vocals a little.
‘Will You Be There?’ sees a dramatic change in pace, picking it up significantly and is very well received by the crowd. Having recently seen off the likes of Pete Doherty and Dire Straits to clinch the number four spot in the album charts. These grafters from Sheffield are certainly a band who mean business. The band formed in 2010 and had already previously achieved three top 10 records on the UK charts with their previous albums.
Undoubtedly, ‘NYC (Sing It Loud)’ from the 2019 album ‘Under your Sky’ is the best received song of the night with its truly upbeat sound. Upbeat refrain ‘Sing it loud and keep your head high, So long as it makes you proud, There's no need for anyone else to bring you down’ is indeed sung loud by the jubilant crowd. With their reputation for outstanding live performances the band have previously said “Our fans come to our gigs for a good time and they feel more like a party than anything else”, which definitely something that rings true tonight.
‘Here Comes the Rain’ from the new album is a powerful change of pass with its slow instrumental bass beginning, building into a faster pace with the heartfelt lyrics ‘Sometimes need some space on my own’. Lifting the tempo, ‘Sirens’ really gets the crowd dancing joyously tonight at a now palpably buzzing Friday night at the Electric Ballroom in the heart of Camden Town. ‘No, Retreat, No Surrender’ sees the crowd now clapping along without any prompting from band.
Just before ‘City Lights’ the band announce they've hit No.4 in the charts, much to their feverish fans’ delight, a real feat for an independent band, as Kieran says “Four normal lads going toe to toe with the biggest artists in the world, legendary!” This is a real achievement considering the weighting given to streaming, which benefits major label acts, mean it is getting harder for DIY outfits to compete for the top spot. “The landscape is changing,” as guitarist Brandon has said.
Another anthem, ‘Chasing Shadows’ prompts more mass clapping, with many in attendance singing along. Although the band took a little while to pick up, they sound just as impressive live as they do on record, and with an upcoming major festival slot at Tramlines are sure to impress alongside the big boys including indie veterans Kasabian. Overall, these humble South Yorkshire lads have really shown their maturity with their best album to date, and they deliver their hits with gusto tonight.
Words by Brendan Sharp
Photography by Katie McLellan-Salisbury
