Reviews

What is less sure is whether or not they factored into their five year band plan that one of their songs, Here (In Your Arms), would be a top five hit all over the world, and they would suddenly be expected to adapt their shy, geek-pop to fill rather sizeable venues?

Alas, no. You can’t help but feel sorry for the band as they struggle with making their songs sound anything but dwarfed in the newly refurbished and slightly more cavernous Academy. The refurb' has brought with it vastly improved sound, a double-edged sword to a band of HelloGoodbye’s ilk.

On the one hand, where each past set of theirs seemed to lack any notion of the importance synthesizers play in their sound, tonight, the keys were up front and centre in the mix, giving the bubble and bounce synonymous with the band.

However, when you have a singer that mostly relies on a Vocoder to disguise his self-confessed lack of flair behind the mic, the newly crisp and clearer sound puts far too much of a spotlight on this fact.

And thus, on the big, demanding pop numbers like opener All Of Your Love and that uber-hit Here - which came complete with customary surge forward of casual fans - vocalist Forrest Kline flounders a little.

Yet on the slower, more intimate numbers - Oh, It Is Love is a definite set high point - Kline’s naive and slightly frail voice adds an emotional depth lacking in most of the other songs, and it actually works.

Once everyone had burnt out after the single, there was time for ‘last night on the tour hi-jinx’ with set closer Touchdown Turnaround, which mainly saw the band running around stage, with some of the more dedicated members struggling to keep time.

All in all, a little disappointing, but really through no fault of the band. If only nobody had bought any of their singles, then everything would’ve be fine.