LIVE REVIEW: Normandie @ OMEARA, London

When Swedish alt rock outfit NORMANDIE announced they’d be performing a few special shows at London’s OMEARA to play a few of their albums in full, it rightfully caused excitement amongst fans and sold out quickly. With a different album and support band each night, it promised to be not only a big undertaking for the band to learn all three albums, but a very unique show for those lucky enough to hold tickets.

One thing that’s immediately striking is just how small the room is; holding just over 300 people, it’s a wonderfully intimate space for such a remarkable evening. Opening the second night, where NORMANDIE are playing 2018’s White Flag, are London’s own DELAIRE THE LIAR. Already causing a stir in their own right, and deservedly so, the quartet take to the stage with new stage getup including jackets scrawled with spiky writing that befits the angrier parts of their sound. The dual vocal of Ffin Colley and Em Lodge complement each other both during those aggressive as well as softer moments. With just a thirty minute set, they pack in plenty of that duality, especially on material from their excellent 2021 EP Eat Your Own. The crowd seem to enjoy it too, loud applause after every song and more than a few singing along. If they keep on like this, they’ll have outgrown venues like OMEARA before long. 

Rating: 8/10

There’s no other way of putting it; NORMANDIE sound immaculate. Easily filling the tiny room and with a lighting rig that wouldn’t be out of place in a much bigger room, it’s enormous with the bass rumbling through the floor. Not only that but there’s 300-plus throats singing back every word, at threatening equalling the band themselves. The energy levels don’t go unnoticed either, vocalist Philip Strand declaring it’s the most energy he’s ever experienced in London before. As much as that may feel like standard patter from a band, it’s not hard to believe when even the back of the – admittedly tiny – room of diehard fans are belting along. 

It’s not your standard album in order show either; “the great thing about these shows is we can play the singles first,” Strand smirks before a towering rendition of White Flag. In spite of the small stage, the band give as good as they get, bounding around or on the spot during songs as well as joking around with each other and the crowd between them. Responding to a heckler early on, Strand grins “I’ve got in ears, whatever you’re saying I can’t hear but I’m sure it’s great,” eliciting sniggers throughout the room. With such an intimate setting, their anthemic pop leanings become larger than life, making the intimacy all the more special, especially because it’s – in their words – the only time they’ll play the album this way. For those that see tonight’s show, it’s a wonderfully life-affirming evening and a celebration of the album that changed the band’s lives as well as likely a few of the fans. 

Rating: 10/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in London from Ciara Wilkinson Media here:

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