Manchester Orchestra have wrung some serious mileage out of frontman Andy Hull’s dramatic old-soul blues – you’d hardly believe the man only just reached 30 – and brand new album ‘A Black Mile to the Surface’ isn’t breaking with tradition. Cryptic but emotionally charged, focused and intense where their last albums got bloated: the band is at their best and their most complex, swiping up fashionably-indie producers all over the place, channeling the grandeur of the Walkmen or Band of Horses as much as the hard-hitting Brand New or Far influences you’d already expect. Manchester Orchestra have been competing for the title of the next-great indie rock band for some time now, practising in the wings while the National or the Hold Steady got their leap into the spotlight. Years after all the momentary ’emo’ bands have had their day, Manchester Orchestra have blossomed into everything they promised to be.
Tue 24 Oct, 7pm, O2 Institute, 78 Digbeth High Street Birmingham B5 6DY. £18.15. seetickets.com
Words: Chris Donald - Gigs Editor
Published on: Sun 1 Oct 2017