Adult Leisure is an exciting new group from Bristol who promise to contribute a dreamy, ballad-driven approach to the alt-indie scene with their polished debut album, ‘The Things You Don’t Know Yet’. Having listened to and enjoyed their singles, I decided to head down to Kazimier Stockroom on the 8th November, the final pit stop on their UK tour.
Locating the Kazimier Stockroom is not unlike attempting to navigate a speakeasy: Initially, you wander into a bustling outdoor bar, complete with live DJ, and wonder if you’ve walked through the wrong door; turn a corner, and you may mistakenly stumble into a toilet stall. Thankfully, a friendly staff member pointed my friend and I in the right direction.
We found our way to the venue at 8pm, just in time for local support act Honey Motel to begin their set. I wasn’t sure what to expect when the first strums of electric guitar kicked in, and was hit surprisingly by a warm and textural wall of sound. The psychedelic groove of bass and guitar combined with intermittently intense percussion created a vibe of relaxed frenzy; what took this to another level was lead singer Freddie Giggs’ smooth and angelic vocals. His soaring tone combined with some intoxicating lyricism produced a sound similar to that of Nothing But Thieves’ Conor Mason.
For such a new band, Honey Motel displayed some promising stage presence, encouraging the growing crowd to loosen and sway. One of my favourites of the night was their single ‘Milk’, which begins and ends with mellow soulfulness but packs in percussive vibrancy throughout. Whilst still pertaining to an indie sensibility, the band are able to stretch across a fair few styles throughout their set, and it’s clear that they have a pretty faultless instrumental range to do so.
Another standout single was their most streamed track, ‘If You Didn’t Exist’. It dips in and out of the soulfully sweet and loud, emotive brashness with ease: think the lovechild of Daniel Caesar and early Kings of Leon.
Once Honey Motel had concluded their set, I sat around to a soundtrack of the venue’s pre-set playlist: an eclectic mix of The Cure, Paramore and even the Rocky Horror soundtrack. A quick dance break to the tune of ‘Time Warp’ and it was then time for the main event, signalled by the staggered entrance of band members.
Something that seems to be known within Adult Leisure’s fanbase is the amount of electricity they carry with them to the stage. Tonight was no exception; albeit imaginably worn out from the tour, their personalities took over and bred an infectious energy amongst the crowd. Frontman Neil Scott was a ball of vitality throughout; he danced like nobody was watching, encouraging the audience to do the same.
A few songs in and the crowd had doubled. Scott addressed this during the band’s first greeting, and proceeded to look expectantly at the audience, demanding enthrall.
“We are not a pop band!” He exclaimed firmly, before the band dove headfirst into a new song. Their sound is an amalgamation of everything that makes indie rock such a popular and definitive genre: ‘See Her’’s saxophone opening was reminiscent of The 1975, whilst more synth-driven tracks reminded me somewhat of The Cure’s poppier surface. Then there was “The Rules”, with its catchy, woven melodies and its jangly, 80’s-inspired instrumentals. Every song proceeded seamlessly from the last in a dreamlike sequence, broken only by Scott’s successful attempts to engage the crowd. A section of call-and-response would see him point his microphone stand into the audience, forcing everyone to get involved.
Adult Leisure’s third to last song of the night was ‘Kiss Me Like You Miss Her’, which was greeted with roaring applause as soon as the charming and evocative hook was set in motion by guitarist David Woolford. The anthemic instrumentals of Inhaler and spoken-word approach of Fontaines DC came to mind, with a hazy and nostalgic quality that allows the group to stand out. Several audience members mouthed the chorus, the year-old single already becoming a familiar favourite.
The night ended on a high during the final song, with their singer entering the crowd and contributing to a final eruption of pure joy. The rest of the band played their hearts out, especially powerhouse drummer Nathan Searle who smiled at the scene despite being drenched in sweat.
Adult Leisure is a substantial new addition to the indie-rock scene, and their live shows are equally as great for first-time listeners and die-hard fans. I’d suggest giving them a listen!
Review by: Amelie Griffiths
Image credit: Amelie Griffiths
