29/07/2016 | Landmarks – The Ruby Lounge, Manchester

Promoting the upcoming release of their third EP In spite of it All on August 12th, Manchester band Landmarks performed at The Ruby Lounge, a typically bustling venue due to playing host to several popular themed music nights, as well as providing a platform for emerging artists to display their talent.

While the final opening act Tuskens provided a noticeably different atmosphere due to their use of heavy instrumentation and harsher lyrics which were emphasised with a powerful stage presence, the often surprisingly melodic vocals acted as an ideal introduction to Landmarks and their more carefree sound, the songs often imbued with a sense of playfulness and summer spirit.

Opening at 10pm with Cutting Strings, the vibrant and instantly catchy single of their latest endeavour, the crowd was welcomed and warmed to by lead singer Brad who encouraged the audience to gather closer to the stage through stating that he wished to see ‘all of your beautiful faces up here’ before proceeding to joke that ‘this is the first time we’ve played in a long time, but don’t worry about it.’

This sense of interactivity and light heartedness continued throughout the set in the form of jokes about the drinking plans of several audience members and the questionable security of the men’s bathrooms on the premises, and was echoed in the lively, more chord based guitar riffs and heartfelt vocals in tracks such as Worse for Wear, Catapults and Reverse. The lyrics, appealing to the joys and perils of youth in lines such as ‘we were young and we were reckless’ and ‘I give in, I give up, I know better than to hope for something more’ resonated with the crowd who became increasingly animated as the set progressed.

This lead to the band inviting members to join them up on stage and ‘party with all of us’ during the closing track 40mg, an obvious fan favourite which encapsulated the impassioned ambience of the performance. While the band can also be accredited with providing an energetic visual display, guitarist Nic who was situated in the right hand corner of the stage appeared to be more reserved, withdrawing from the repartee with the audience and maintaining a lower element of stage presence than fellow band members.

Met with loud applause and cheers from the initially more reserved crowd upon finishing their set, Landmarks thanked those in attendance with sincere pleasure, a fitting end to a highly enjoyable show.