Live Review: DMA's - O2 Academy, Bristol 10/02/2026
A decade on, Hills End still hits like a first love.
DMA’s are rolling through the UK to celebrate 10 years of Hills End and it feels less like a standard anniversary tour and more like a proper indie reunion. The kind where everyone in the room already knows the words before a single lyric has been sung. At the O2 Academy Bristol, Tommy, Matt and Johnny came back together sounding locked in and completely in their element, soundtracking a night fuelled by nostalgia, indie love, and those unmistakable Aussie vibes.
Before any of that, the warm-up band were genuinely a perfect appetiser. It’s rare you get a support slot that doesn’t feel like something to “get through”, but this was a great taster drenched in indie energy. Salarymen had real presence. The guitar tone was amazing, and when the male and female vocalists combined, the harmonies hit in that way that reminds you why live music still wins. Something about a live band playing together that just makes everything land harder. Even the slower songs didn’t sag. They hit just as hard, just in a different way. There were moments of crowd interaction, a tongue-in-cheek plea for fans to buy their merch, and even the little “Bristol facts section” added to the humour. They played out to chants of “DMA’s, DMA’s, DMA’s” as fans braced themselves for the Dirty Ma’s.
And then: lights out.
When DMA’s opened with “Timeless,” the stage was swallowed in red lighting and smoke, instantly giving the night a dramatic edge. It wasn’t just a gentle “welcome back” to Hills End. It was a full-on launch. The energy in the O2 Academy was immediate. “Timeless” set the tone perfectly, right down to that blistering guitar outro that felt like it was trying to scrape the ceiling off the venue.
From there, it became clear what the band were doing. The setlist was structured to match the album’s tracklisting. It’s a bold move, but on an album like Hills End, it makes total sense. The songs flow like a story, and the crowd were more than ready to run through it.
“Lay Down” kept that momentum rolling, with chants bouncing back from every corner of the room. The O2 Academy was oozing indie, and it was already obvious this was one of those gigs where the crowd were going to sing everything. Even visually, it felt like peak DMA’s. Tommy was in a chequered hat, oversized jacket and baggy trousers, symbolic of the era that this album soundtracked for so many people.
If there was a turning point where the night shifted from a great show into something more emotional, it was “Delete.” That was a massive moment. The love in the room was unreal, and the crowd singing along wasn’t just loud, it was catharsis. At one point the band didn’t even need to sing the chorus because the venue did it for them. It felt like a celebratory climax for a fan favourite and DMA’s first breakout song, the kind of communal moment that’s hard to manufacture and impossible to fake.
From there, the set moved into a stretch that felt like pure bliss. “Too Soon” landed like an ode to their best work. Not just because it’s a great song, but because hearing it in this context, ten years on, makes you realise how much weight it carries now. “In The Moment” followed with that same nostalgic glow, and the crowd seemed to sink deeper into it, bathing in the feeling of being transported back to whatever Hills End means to them personally.
When “Step Up The Morphine” was announced, the reaction was raucous. The crowd echoed it back like it was a football chant, and the acoustics of the venue really suited it. That was a recurring theme all night. The sound in Bristol worked with the band. Nothing got lost. Everything rang out. Every lyric. Every drum hit. Every guitar strum.
“Melbourne” brought a different kind of reaction. Less rowdy, more warmth. It’s clearly close to the band’s heart, a love letter to Australia, and weirdly, it resonated with the Bristolians too. That feeling of there’s nowhere like home is universal, and in a room full of people singing back every word, it felt like the song belonged to everyone.
Then came “Straight Dimensions,” and honestly, this was the moment of the night. The guitars going into it were insane, the kind of intro that makes the guitar purists in the room instantly lock in. The vocals were anthemic, but it was the thrashing, relentless guitar work that really stole it. And it didn’t just start strong. The outro was as good as the intro, a full-circle surge that left the room buzzing.
“Blown Away” was a perfect comedown into haziness. Slower pace, but no less powerful. Another huge outro too, sung in tandem with the crowd. It was emotional in that quiet way, where you suddenly realise you’ve been singing along for an hour and you’re not even tired because adrenaline’s doing the work. Tommy, Matt and Johnny showed no signs of fatigue, buoying around the stage as they soaked in the admiration from the adoring crowd.
By the time “The Switch” arrived, the penultimate track of Hills End, it felt like the whole room was suspended. The build was dramatic, and it was beautifully sung. It’s also my personal favourite, and hearing it live confirmed why. It has that shimmering, cinematic quality that makes it feel bigger than the venue. It was also Tommy’s personal favourite from the album, so there’s that.
“Play It Out” closed the album run like a victory lap. The crowd were jubilant, and the band didn’t let off the gas for the entire hour. The outro felt like it ripped through the room as DMA’s thanked the crowd and made their way off stage. Fortunately, they weren’t done.
After a brief exit, the calls for an encore brought them back and the crowd lost it. They launched into a medley of their biggest hits outside of Hills End. “For Now” was unreal, which kickstarted a full-on celebration of everything DMA’s. “Olympia” kept the moshpit alive, an unapologetic banger that proved the band still know how to hit hard when they want to.
But “Silver” might have been the most entrancing moment of the night. Partly because of how the band showed love to the UK crowd, and partly because the response back was gorgeous. It wasn’t just loud. It was heartfelt.
They finished with a run that felt like the band emptying the tank: “Tape Deck Sick,” “Hello Girlfriend,” “Feels Like 37,” and then “The Beginning of the End”, a Courteeners cover that landed like the perfect final nod to the UK, the scene, and the shared indie DNA in that room.
Ten years on, Hills End hasn’t aged. It’s just gathered meaning. And in Bristol, DMA’s didn’t just play it. They reminded everyone why it became iconic in the first place.
Words by Alex Peters
