Live Review: Dayseeker, Acres, Love Is Noise | O2 Academy Islington, London | 16/05/2023
Dayseeker's first UK tour in eight years feels like a victory lap, with dates rapidly selling out and a second London date hurriedly added.
Love Is Noise
On this second night, rising alt metallers Love Is Noise open the evening, their metalcore fused with shoegaze in a way not dissimilar to fellow UK act Loathe. From a Matrix sample opening their set straight into the reverb-drenched ‘Azure’ and new song ‘In the Shadow of Your Former Self’, Love Is Noise deliver hazy, heavy music that could do without quite so many snare bombs – it is set overloud in the mix too – but it’s still a powerful set that wins them more than a few new fans.
Score: 7/10
Acres
Following them are the post-hardcore adjacent Acres who bring their own emotion-flecked songs, though again there’s an inescapable sense of them being comparable to others like Holding Absence or Being As An Ocean in their approach. They come on to Seal‘s ‘Kiss From A Rose’ before barrelling into the title track from latest album Burning Throne, and while the mix feels thin, the crowd are fully on board from the get go. The room is heaving, with all eyes on the quartet as they tear through songs culled from across their career. They’re clearly having a blast onstage with plenty of energy despite it being the final show of the tour, songs like ‘Into Flames’ or closer ‘Lonely World’ feeling disarmingly powerful.
Score: 8/10
Dayseeker
It goes without saying though that Dayseeker are the stars of the show, vocalist Rory Rodriguez’s stunning voice the clear focal point. Delirious cheers greet their appearance onstage in a room feeling more than a little close to oversold; the band open with a mesmerising ‘Dreamstate’ and hold the crowd rapt from its first note. There’s plenty of love for material from Sleeptalk, too, with ‘Gates of Ivory’ and ‘Crooked Soul’ getting early airings. The capacity crowd roar back every word (some more successfully than others), and the breakdowns incite pits at the front. Rory’s voice is near-perfect, the heart-rending ‘Crying While You’re Dancing’ threatening to cause exactly that, while his screams during the raging ‘Vultures’ embody the song’s fury. Such a long gap since their last tour only makes the heart grow fonder, the crowd hanging onto every word and note; this might be night two in London and the final night of the tour, but Dayseeker make it seem like the first with a towering performance that leaves only one thing to say – it better not be eight years before they’re back, and in bigger venues at that.
Score: 9/10