With May suddenly heating up, we found ourselves on a balmy Thursday night at the O2 Academy Islington, ready to be welcomed into the luscious, vibrant new world of ALT BLK ERA. Exploding into the scene and gaining a huge following, thanks in part to their track ‘Run Rabbit’ having a viral moment on social media but primarily due to their grit, charm, and pure talent, the Nottingham band have taken on London for the start of their eagerly awaited Our World tour to celebrate the release of their new EP of the same title. It was time for worlds to collide.
Deafening cheers fill the crammed room as drummer Sam Brooks first steps onto the stage, swiftly followed by guitarist Alex Plant, both touring members and both clearly ecstatic to start the tour. If their cheers were deafening, it was nothing compared to the reaction when vocalist Nyrobi Beckett-Messam strutted onto the stage with a dazzling smile, warming up the crowd with the first section of ‘Our World’ before vocalist Chaya Beckett-Messam glided across to join her sister and complete the multi-talented duo act.
Alt Blk Era at O2 Academy Islington – photo by Artemi Falzon 
Alt Blk Era at O2 Academy Islington – photo by Artemi Falzon 
Alt Blk Era at O2 Academy Islington – photo by Artemi Falzon 
Alt Blk Era at O2 Academy Islington – photo by Artemi Falzon 
Alt Blk Era at O2 Academy Islington – photo by Artemi Falzon
The crowd raring to go, the duo continued their opening track as they weaved their way through the crowd, holding hands and connecting with the fans as if truly welcoming us into their world. The unhurried but incredibly mighty opener was followed with ‘My Drummer’s Girlfriend’, Nyrobi shouting to the crowd “who is she?” and receiving a roar in response, while ‘Silhouettes In The Mirror’ had the entire audience’s hands in the air and Alex two-stepping frantically and yelling audibly without help from a mic, as Chaya’s softer vocals complemented Nyrobi’s low, powerful notes against the rolling drums and fuzzed guitar riffs. The duo don’t just have heavenly harmonies that weave between each other and allow space for both voices to be appreciated, they’ve also choreographed theatrical and fluid movements and moments to several of their songs, from an unsettling marionette-like intro on ‘Come Fight Me For It’ that sees them pushing and pulling each other, to a sing-along to ‘Okay (Cyber Racing)‘ that alternates between the sisters’ specific lyrics before freezing into a dramatic pose facing each other, the tension broken as they can’t contain their elated and proud smiles.
ALT BLK ERA have fully earned their flowers, not just because of their bewitching siren-voices and well-rounded genre blends of garage-rock with metal undertones, but thanks to their indelible and warm personalities, dedicating songs to anyone who’s been told to be “less” and engaging with every face in the crowd to make you feel seen. As they close out their unforgettable first nught with ‘Tissuea’, they take the time to thank Sam and Alex, their crew, the O2 Academy, and finally the audience, without taking credit for themselves and staying humble even though they know as well as we do – they can take on any world.
Taking to the stage with bone-rattling, deafening bass ringing in the background, first support act Nova May bounded out with a huge smile and an immediate engagement with the crowd, before launching into pop dances mixes while she layered autotuned vocal runs over the pop-techno music. It was a surprising start to the night given the music ALT BLK ERA is known for and the support acts on their tour, and yet Nova May works with this contradictory sound and her infectious energy. She played to the crowd and not for the cameras, consistently interacting with or catching the eye of someone, throwing a special thanks to a group who were more than thrilled to see her perform and hollering about it. Despite the autotune, Nova May’s clean vocals are a delight to hear live, drifting from matter-of-fact Brit-pop-esque to rising R&B inspired vocal runs, at times resorting to fast-paced lyrics that bordered rap. The background bass track continued to assault our skeletons and ears with the occasional guitar lick or synth wavering in the background. Coupled with the intense strobe lighting, we could very well have taken a wrong turn and ended up at a garage night, but Nova May was utterly charming, demanding the crowd get their hands up and dance like their life depends on it, a surprising but entirely effective way of warming up the crowd and, most importantly, just letting girls be girls and enjoy their Brit-pop.
At the other end of the music spectrum, Saint Agnes have a lot of bite for the crowd ahead of their album release, their dramatic entrance a marker for how their performance is designed to captivate you with visually striking poses against the hazed lights as lead singer Kitty Austen proclaimed they were “here for a bad time”. Tearing into their alt-numetal tracks, they flung themselves across the stage, the singer opting for spins and full body head bangs while the dual guitarists/keyboardists had a riff off and prowled across the stage. There was huge potential for the first mosh pit of the night to start during ‘Bloodsuckers’, but the crowd stuck to jumping frenetically while screaming the words back to Kitty. Crowd favourite ‘The Ghost’ saw drummer Andy Head going absolutely ham on the kit as guitarist Jon Tufnell leapt to the barrier and handed his guitar to the crowd, the lucky few hanging onto it reverently as he hyped up the energy. Despite hurtling about more than an out of control jackhammer, Kitty continued delivering powerful yells and notes like it was a stroll in the park, pausing before the final song to wholeheartedly thank the crowd for coming out early to see the support acts. Delivering one final emotional blow with a new track from their upcoming album Your God Fearing Days Are About To Begin, the band disappears into a thick fog to tumultuous applause.