There’s something special in the air tonight.
Whether it’s the bonafide slammers Declan McKenna is blaring out at the DJ booth or the shifting pulse of the crowds gathered, tonight is a moment that seems to lay out something seismic. Blaenavon’s journey to this moment has been a storied one, a path taken over multiple years – and it leads to this very moment. The same day that their debut ‘That’s Your Lot’ makes its way into the world, Blaenavon are throwing the biggest celebration party in London, one that promises far more than any birthday bash down the local could ever muster.
Preceding such an occasion can usually be an impossible job, but Anteros don’t dwell on what’s possible. Serving up delectable cocktails of swinging pop glory, that mix of glam, style and swagger never lets up in a set that on any other night would easily steal the show. Lead by the all-encompassing force of nature that is Laura Hayden, Anteros’ choppy neon-lit hits radiate throughout, firing across Heaven with an inviting wink that’s impossible to resist. ‘The Beat’ is a lush beacon of glitter, ‘Drunk’ sparkles with a knockout ease, ‘Bonnie’ hits with the same immediate kick that 80s hits like ‘Jessie’s Girl’ made famous and ‘Fade to Grey’ charms from the outset. Oozing with a charisma that deserves to be played out across the biggest stages – Anteros are unquestionably primed for the big-time.
Blaenavon’s crowning moment is a sensation that can’t be sized in comparisons or numbers, but instead fizzles through the faces of a crowd witnessing a band on fire. From the moment the trio step onto the stage, their place and purpose becomes something far greater. Ben Gregory’s crown of daffodils rest over a presence that’ll see him become a frontman thousands will be clambering over, erupting into a set that fizzes through seas of pogoing bodies on ‘Lets Pray’ and ‘Miss World’, and the unbridled fever that greets ‘Lonely Side’. Overflowing with a wall of sound that flattens all in its path, they surge through the double-sided crunch that makes Blaenavon a band like no other. The delicate soothes that flip into ferocious bites of rabid intensity shine on ‘Alice Come Home’ and a riotous ‘I Will Be The World’ – every note and flick captivating in every sense.
Hands in the air devotion follows throughout. That sheer visceral feeling of a band seizing the moment glows through ‘My Bark Is Your Bite’, ‘Orthodox Man’ and ‘Take Care’, and when a string section joins them for ‘Swans’, the sheer breadth in meaning and potential is a jaw-dropping one. Beyond it all though is an undeniable sense that a community is finally witnessing a band capable of seizing the biggest stages – and with ‘Prague 99’ closing out the evening with a stage invasion that feels more like a landmark point in the year than just any other gig, what’s clear is just how special Blaenavon are about to become.