Live Review

A Loss For Words – Academy, Manchester

• 6th Jun 2011

With the weather slowly starting to get warmer what’s more welcome than an evening of Pop-Punk to get us in the mood for summer? And with the number of people unabashedly flaunting shorts tonight at Manchester’s Academy 3, the promise of festivals and cider is hanging heavy in the air.

Aiming to kick off the festivities are Decade, a relatively young quintet from Bath ready to hit the big time with their brand of Pop-Punk with a capital POP. Unfortunately when they take to the stage there are only a handful of people making up the crowd and less people actually paying much attention which makes the 250 capacity venue seem cavernous. Nevertheless, the boys do an admirable job at maintaining a lot of energy and enthusiasm throughout their set even if their honey coated harmonies fail to inspire the same in anybody else.

Next up are Californians This Time Next Year and the venue still seems half empty but the absolute insanity of frontman Pete Dowdalls ensures that everyone’s attention is held in a vice-like grip. I mean, this guy is Grade A metal, flapping his arms like a possessed chicken and staring audience members straight in the eye with the look of a frantic gerbil. And just when I think Dowdall’s not off his rocker enough, he whips out some hilarious eyebrow twitching which leaves me seriously choking on my cider and black (classy). By this point, as entertaining as they are, I realise I’ve yet to take This Time Next Year seriously as musicians. Their sound is one heavily borrowed from New Found Glory, particularly new song ‘Dropped Out of Life’, but that doesn’t really matter to the now increasing crowd who are starting to get into the Pop-Punk spirit by jumping around and getting involved. The songs that get the biggest reaction are ‘Alex in Wonderland’ and ‘New Sensation’ whose hooks ensure that the number of people who know the words jumps from about 2 to 200 by the end. With Dowdalls at the helm, This Time Next Year can’t fail to captivate audiences live (he even tries a spot of stand up comedy at one point when he shares his experience of English girls) but musically they don’t have much to set them apart from the rest of the pack.

A Loss For Words have gained a reputation in the Pop-Punk scene as one of the most determined and dedicated band around at the moment and something which is evident throughout their passionate set. Their sound is ferocious yet they remain tight throughout and work the crowd into a hysterical amount of bouncing and stage diving. Their rendition of ‘My Girl’ from the album ‘Motown Classics’ results in arms being thrown round each other and the words being bellowed back from the crowd at a deafening volume. Other highlights include upbeat tracks such as ‘Hold Your Breath’ and ‘Heavy Lies the Crown’ but the stand out point of the night comes when front man Matty Arsenault dedicates the song ‘Mt. St. Joseph’ to anyone who has lost a friend to drugs. Though many bands may offer similar sentiments at their shows few could evoke the sorrowful atmosphere which A Loss For Words create as they perform the song with genuine emotion and grief.

The light-hearted vibe which we’re more accustomed to is quickly reinstated afterwards when the band bring a little lad of no more than about four onto the stage and proclaim him to be ‘the next generation’. Having seen the little fella earlier on in the night beaming from ear to ear and seemingly unfazed by the massive headphones he’s being made to wear it’s clear that Pop-Punk is alive and well in Manchester this evening. The age range and diversity of the crowd is impressive and A Loss For Words do a great job of uniting everyone into a sweaty and smiling Pop-Punk family.