Dan Smith’s heady ascent to the peaks of the A-list blog scene came in late 2012 as his band, Bastille, branding themselves as swarve glitch-pop-ballad boys, gathered pace. They’ve survived an early dose of the critics’ quill, and supported Two Door Cinema Club at Brixton Academy this February 8^th.

Based on recent media, the four-piece should be accustomed to room-swelling effects: a forthcoming tour has sold well and single Pompeii has notched up 2,500,000 Youtube hits thus far. Duly, Smith and co. roused new and sustained interest at Brixton, but this was a fairly easy gig, riding the wave of recent online success and played to an expectant, obedient and buzz-ridden crowd.

Straight forward maybe, but the boys imposed upon themselves tough musical flair. A cover of euphoric floor filler ‘Rhythm of the Night’ showcased Smith’s chocolate-y warm vocals in play, as alluringly guy-next-door as Two Door’s Alex Trimble's. Both, too, are natural storytellers. An inherent swag suggests the stage is a natural dwelling; there's a sense of ease here.

Half-strung hipster swag isn’t that far flung from the band’s other, near-on boy band affectations. This supposed paradox is quelled with a second glance at Smith’s smoke and mirrors showmanship, which at times tells of a sensibility not at such lingering odds with the self-consciousness of his lyrics, ‘I was left to my own devices. Many days fell away with nothing to show, and the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love’. There’s a staid aloneness here with a show-y backbone.

Pompeii drops with its glitch off-beat, harder bass-synth and huggy backing vocals, and the audience lay well within their arms.

You’d be forgiven for mistaking Two Door Cinema Club’s crowd with a sixth form parents’ evening, and I’m not just talking about the kids. This prime indie-pop manifestation have grown up since 2020s introductory LP Tourist History which welcomed the whole family, including the awkward uncle, into the realm of Indie music. Their performance, helped by the relentless hit-after-hit approach they cannot help but take, has by-and-large lost little of the elasticity and enthusiasm apparent in their spring, back in 2010.

‘Back in 2010’ holds more weight than I’d like, though, and this on stage buoyancy cracks at points. More recent tracks during this ball-drop bonanza (disclaimer: live performances contain large bouncy balls) sound weak in comparison to TDCC’s aforementioned “spring”. A time consuming mid-set lull consists of a large chunk of ‘Beacon’, the still-hailed yet less plush second album, which never hit the giddy pop choruses of the first.

In fact, album tracks from the depths of ‘Beacon’ fall on disinterested ears like advert breaks on Grandma. The band, however, achieve in integrating the difficult sophomore release’s first single ‘She Sleeps Alone’ as a strong opener; it’s the closest they get to another Tourist History moment.

Beacon longed it out as chat volume intensified amongst the teen-trendies, who began twiddling their pirate headscarves to breaking point in expectation of predictably in its’ classic form: ‘Eat That Up, It’s Good For You’ and ‘What You Know’ chime in, and those inflammatory vibes are back.

Early hits still hold iron-strong provoking wild festival-like responses; the biggest of these are 2010s answer to the Adele affect. Truthfully, Tourist History's regal reputation makes Beacon work even harder for spats of explosive catch, both on record and in performance.

Even the large tin foil dome pinned to the wall, presumably a ‘beacon’,  wasn’t very convincing. It looked more like one of the 70s spaceship models downstairs in the science museum than a forward-thinking indie-rock-prop. 

In the midst of a plethora of competitive second albums, this is a challenging time for Two Door Cinema Club.