Adult Leisure
Dareshack, Bristol
29th August 2024
Photography by Eleanor Wynn
Daisy Kennedy
Daisy is a Bristol based freelance writer, mainly producing work for theatre and screen, but especially loves to write about music and live events. Prone to a good dance and the occasional crowd surf.
With the release of their new single ‘Borderline’ followed by a sold-out hometown gig, Adult Leisure prove why they should be on your radar
After sell out hometown gig and new release ‘Borderline’, Adult Leisure should be on your radar.
Anthemic pop-rock band Adult Leisure stir quite the home crowd in their sold out Bristol headline gig on Thursday night.
It was a night of four piece Bristol blokes, starting off with Bedside Morale showcasing their new EP ‘Still Life’ despite having a body of work under their belt, this was their first gig. You wouldn’t be able to tell, the band were tight in their earnest rock fashion. Second up were indie rock Chasing Kites, delivering a dynamic live set with a sound reminiscent of The Verve. With a brooding intensity, they performed recent singles ‘The Woods’ and ‘Collide.’
By 9:45pm the crowd were truly loosened, shoulder to shoulder and ready for the main event. Adult Leisure certainly don’t hold back on the theatrics. With a staggered entrance of the four members complete with a full scale backdrop and lead vocalist Neil Scott’s signature dance; the band bring an organic joyful atmosphere that a lot of other bands strive to curate.
Opening with ‘All For You’, instantly showing Searle’s rhythmic skill building to the melodic chorus, making a perfect opening number and an applause signifying the crowd is completely on their side from the get go.
Crowd favourite ‘Control’ came with a commanding and energetic performance from frontman Scott, turning the mic around for the chorus to be echoed back, tethered with Woolford’s impressive guitar lines.
There are many reasons this band stand out, with their next level songwriting their lyrics often get praise for their self reflective nature. To really dig into this though, something that is very strong about Adult Leisure is their structural ability and keen ear for melody, each tune takes us on a rollercoaster, picking us up and dropping us down at the perfect moment, all the while knowing you’re in safe hands. It’s a testament to their highly developed song craft, which shines through even more with each new release.
Their new single ‘Borderline’, proves this. It builds magically, the hint of an 80s groove makes for a belter of a live performance, so masterfully structured it’s a song demanding to be screamed by a large arena.
By the time they finished their last song ‘Things You Don’t Know Yet’, the raucous crowd was already demanding them to play Control again, along with chanting the drummers full name: Nathan Searle! Nathan Searle!
With their infectious energy and mass anthemic appeal, it’s without a doubt we will be seeing a lot more of these local pop-rock legends in the coming year.
Adult Leisure are Neil Scott on vocals, David Woolford on guitar, James Laing on bass and Nathan Searle on drums.
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