Live Review + Gallery | Everything Everything @ Metro Theatre, Sydney

Matt Wellham

After years of photographing and filming the London music scene, Matt’s now based in Sydney, Australia. A lover of the post-punk and alternative movement, he can usually be found in the grassroots venues, camera in one hand and a beer in the other.

**Eleven years on from its explosive debut, Everything Everything’s seminal masterpiece ‘Get To Heaven‘ remains a frantic, prophetic beacon of art-pop brilliance.**

At the time of release, ‘Get To Heaven‘, Everything Everything’s third record, was met with universal acclaim. Its new, maximalist sound projected the band’s profile around the world, firmly landing them as one of the UK’s finest art-rock offerings. Now 11 years later, Everything Everything return to Australian fans new and old, all dreaming of the distant past.

The Metro Theatre, tonight’s venue, hums in anticipation. Fans pour in, splashed in decade-old ‘Get To Heaven‘ merch, to a now packed-out theatre room. I can overhear a buzz of chatter as the crowd eagerly argue about which songs will and won’t be played. But tonight, they’re in for a treat, as ‘Get To Heaven‘ in its entirety is on the setlist menu.

Opening the night is Hayden Thorpe, formerly of Wild Beasts. Stepping out into the spotlight, Thorpe delivers a restrained, intimate set. He gently strums his semi-hollow Hagstrom guitar and pairs it with soft, almost whispered lyrics that draw the crowd forward. Thorpe’s own songs ‘They‘, ‘Metafeeling‘ and ‘Golden Ratio‘ are entwined with his former band’s ‘This Is Our Lot‘ and ‘Palace‘.

When it’s Everything Everything’s turn, there’s no time for a breather. The electronic synth backing of ‘To The Blade‘ plays out and the lights begin to flicker. A few moments later the band are in place and lead singer Jonathan Higgs is delivering his technically brilliant vocals. As his impressive range soars through the room, the band punch in with the gutsy instrumentation.

While the lighting is slightly pared back from their UK/EU performances, it’s still a visceral delight. Strobes that surround the band flare off in hues of blues and reds, lighting up the clouds of haze that slowly creep from the stage.

The beauty of a single-album tour is that it allows some of the deeper cuts to really shine. ‘Zero Pharaoh‘ and ‘Fortune 500‘ are perfect examples of this. The latter brings a high-anxiety, slow-burning dread that’s tangible in the air. The song tells the story of a revolution, a robbery, and a rising that builds into an anthemic crescendo, with Higgs’s vocals echoing around the building over bassist Jeremy Pritchard’s lumbering, ominous notes.

Working their way through the stacked 20-track setlist, we find ourselves at ‘Distant Past‘. This track is Everything Everything at their very best. Higgs spits the verse vocals with a twitchy enthusiasm that bleeds into the crowd. Underneath, drummer Michael Spearman drives the intricate mechanical heartbeat, while guitarist Alex Robertshaw tears around the neck of his guitar. It’s tight, sharp, and has the crowd bouncing around the packed-out floor.

After thanking the crowd and returning for their fourth encore at Metro Theatre (it’s time they were booked for a bigger venue, because there wasn’t a single space left in the place), Everything Everything deliver three tracks from their other records. ‘Cough Cough‘, ‘Enter The Mirror‘ and the chirpy ‘Cold Reactor‘ close off a night with a splash of some of their most euphoric work.

It may be over a decade since ‘Get To Heaven‘ was released, but with the current political climate, this warning record has never sounded more relatable. In the meantime, Everything Everything have developed their technical ability and visual style, becoming one of the most engaging art-rock bands you can witness live.