Esther Domnu
The London date of Basement’s WIRED release show run felt particularly significant, arriving as part of a string of smaller shows stretching from Los Angeles to UK cities including Brighton and Manchester. Released via Run For Cover Records, WIRED marks the band’s first full-length album in eight years and a reunion with the label that helped shape much of their early career. More than simply a comeback record, the album feels like a return to the urgency, melody and emotional honesty that made Basement such an important band within alternative music in the first place. In the compact setting of 26 Leake Street, that connection between band and audience felt stronger than ever.
In collaboration with Outbreak Fest and Dark Arts Coffee, the night also highlighted the importance of supporting grassroots spaces and independent businesses, something the band themselves spoke passionately about during the set. Opening with ‘WIRED’, Basement wasted no time throwing the room into chaos before moving through fan favourites including ‘Covet’, ‘Whole’, ‘Earl Grey’ and ‘Pine’. Even in such an intimate setting, tracks like ‘Spoiled’ and ‘Head Alight’ felt enormous, with every lyric screamed back by a crowd that never seemed to lose energy from start to finish.
The energy inside this venue hidden in a tunnel never once let up, with constant crowd surfers passing overhead and the pit erupting almost instantly from the opening moments of the set. From crowds serenading every word during ‘Covet’ to entire sections of the crowd pointing fingers to ‘Promise Everything’, the night felt less like a standard release show and more like a celebration between Basement and the community that has continued to stand behind them for over a decade.
There was no sense of a reunion trying to recreate the past; instead, the band sounded completely locked in, as though the years between releases had only strengthened their connection to both the music and the community around them. Closing with ‘Promise Everything’, the night became less about celebrating a single release and more about celebrating the lasting impact Basement continue to have on alternative music as a whole, especially ahead of their upcoming appearances at Outbreak Fest in Manchester and London’s All Points East later this year.