Photo: WENN.com
Delphic have enjoyed a good 2012 by anyone's standards. A song for the Olympics and exponentially rising critical acclaim has seen them become one of the most exciting new bands around in the UK with their clash of indie-rock and elctro-rave.
Inside the cramped Electrowerkz, with peeling ceiling paint and hazy atmosphere, expectations of the band felt high. A lot of people in the room knew their music, but far less had any idea about how it would transfer to the stage.
Blasting into action with thumping electro rhythms of new single 'Baiya', the band's intentions for the night were clear. On stage they seemed energised and eager.
But despite this, and regardless of the cramped room, there seemed to be some gulf between the band and their audience, the crowd didn't seem to absorb the group's invigorated enterance.
Their big single, 'Halcyon', did a good job of warming up a crowd that seemed to still be suffering from a frigidity instilled by the icy weather outside. The room begun to bounce and rock with the band and some feeling of excited liveliness began to spread within the room .
But following the favourite the crowd started to slump again, nodding along through too many epicly soaring synth passages and waiting for something recognisable to happen.
Much of the band's 2009 debut Acolyte was on display, 'Clarion Call', 'Doubt' and 'The Momentary' all got outings.
'Counterpoint', saved until the towards the end of the set, unsurprisingly drew the biggest reaction from the crowd.
But 'Red Lights' proved to be the start of something really special, though. The familiar lyrics enticed the crowd into body shaking elation again, but the beautifully spiralling piece of elctro intrumentation taht followed was the real highlight of the night. A stomping, thudding, rising and falling bit of synth work that lifted and dropped the audience with complete control.
Sonically it's difficult to find fault with Delphic, everything shined with a galvanised finish and tightness. their songs have the wholloping impact that their recorded material promises.
Delphic on stage in Leeds
But as a live performance Delphic were missing something, some compelling charisma that makes great songs amazing performances.
Too many of the audience were waiting for 'that one song' they knew and loved, which sparked them into a euphoric bounce, but they resumed their stand-still observance as soon as it was over.
Whether it's true or not, Delphic seem like a band that have grown from recorded work into a stage performance, rather than one that's developed their material from live experiences.
Their songs are fantastic - clever, catchy, forceful - but their stage presence is still underdeveloped and yet to catch up with the calibre of their songs.
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