London, O2 Academy Islington, April 11 2024
When Trophy Eyes started work on their 2023 album ‘Suicide And Sunshine’, they have been making ready to take their last bow.
A Zoom name between the 4 members culminating within the determination that it could be their last album, the band’s fourth full-length report turned a tribute to all the things they’d constructed. Fuelled by a interval of deep inward reflection, alongside the best way, Trophy Eyes discovered one thing.
Exploring snapshots of life and embracing the person moments that make up the human existence – ‘Suicide And Sunshine’ served as a reminder of what it’s to be alive. Extra importantly for the 4 individuals who created it although – it was a reminder of the significance of connection.
Because the album approaches its first birthday, the truth that Trophy Eyes are nonetheless enjoying exhibits is a blessing. The truth that they’re enjoying them in help of their best album up to now? Effectively, that’s simply the cherry on prime. The stage at London’s O2 Academy Islington backdropped with the long-lasting picture of a noose hanging from a palm tree, as our bodies pack as tightly as attainable into the 800-cap room, a buzz reverberates from wall-to-wall.
The ambiance can maybe be summed up in a single phrase, and it’s a phrase that instantly springs to thoughts because the shimmering synths of opener ‘Blue Eyed Boy’ sound out – euphoric. The group surging as seashore balls bounce over their heads and pointed fingers are aimed in direction of the stage, inside only a few seconds of their time onstage Trophy Eyes show that that is the place they belong, and by their second track – the explosive ‘Determine Eight’ – vocalist John Floreani has already made his means into the gang.
It’s a reminder that while there could also be a stage right here, nothing divides these standing upon it from these in entrance of it tonight. Rattling by means of songs made to be shared, with choruses that burst to life when shouted again by tons of of voices, fan favourites ’27 Membership’ and ‘Heaven Despatched’ ignite the room, push-pits breaking out in what little house might be created on the packed-out flooring.
With simply an hour to rattle by means of over 4 albums price of fabric, there’s little time for Floreani to talk, however midway by means of their set the frontman pauses to mirror on their UK tour.
“That is present quantity six… all through these exhibits, the rooms have been packed out, however everybody simply kinda stood there,” he shrugs.
“Then we got here right here…. And that was the very best fucking thirty minutes I’ve had since we’ve been within the UK.”
It’s simple to imagine him, and whether or not the room is leaping up-and-down in unison to uplifting anthem ‘One thing Greater Than This’ or grappling to seize the microphone from Floreani throughout ‘Suicide Pact’, there’s not a second of respite. Sweat beading upon foreheads by the point the latter drops, a deep sense catharsis radiates by means of the room, eyes welling up throughout a mass singalong of, “Aren’t you bored with hospital beds?”
The vocalist ceaselessly pausing to soak up the second, the grin plastered upon his face is one among sheer pleasure, sprinkled with shock. The room’s voices repeatedly overpowering his personal, over a decade into their profession, it’s proof that Trophy Eyes are at their greatest. With ‘Suicide And Sunshine’ cuts ‘What Hurts The Most’ and ‘Kill’ sparking among the most raucous reactions of the night, earlier than launching into the album’s most reflective minimize – ‘Life In Sluggish Movement’ – Floreani tackle the room.
“I’m typically requested what I need folks to remove from a Trophy Eyes present,” he ponders.
“I need you to be right here and have an actual expertise… you’re alive proper now.”
Eight-hundred voices screaming again a refrain of, “All the things is short-term”, it’s a stark reminder that none of this lasts eternally, and an ideal abstract of what Trophy Eyes is all about. A band who’ve come to symbolise the vitality of discovering a light-weight inside the darkness – regardless of how inconceivable it could appear – their exhibits are a celebration of the full spectrum of human emotion. Whether or not we’re united in our disappointment or united in our pleasure, we’re all on this loopy life collectively – and everybody within the room can really feel that connection.
A band who’ve sacrificed loads to be the place they’re at this time, Trophy Eyes don’t take any of this with no consideration. Confirmed as crowdsurfers surge ahead in the course of the short-and-sweet bang of ‘Choke’ and the heartbreakingly anthemic ‘Chlorine’, Floreani making it his mission to high-five each one – no imply feat contemplating the quantity of our bodies being pulled over the barrier.
The infectious singalong notes of 2018’s ‘You Can Rely On Me’ rounding out the night earlier than ‘Bandaid’ brings affairs to a triumphant shut, tonight there’s no encore, no fancy stage antics, and no bullshit. An hour that passes by in a flash, throughout sixteen songs Trophy Eyes present maybe crucial factor any artist can – an escape.
An opportunity for all these current to overlook about no matter was taking place earlier than they stepped foot into the room, it’s an evening that showcases all the things nice about Trophy Eyes, and all the things nice about stay music. Because the lights come up and faces beam as setlists are positioned into their palms, there’s little doubt that that is what it’s all about.
