Photo: WENN
It's always refreshing when a band ascends to the level their sound has always deserved, and no one has developed so definitively with each release like Metronomy.
Emerging as a leftfield electronic outfit in the early noughties, embracing inventively cheap on stage lightwear and melodicas, Joseph Mount has constantly strived to push the group into new territories, both live and on record.
This trait has naturally given their back catalogue a remarkably varied edge and ultimately made them a stunning live act, from the sweaty clubs where they made their name to Alexandra Palace, London's most picturesque arena-sized venue. On paper, one might imagine Metronomy's sound to feel lost in the cavernous great hall, but it becomes apparent from the offset that instead they were always destined to play venues of this magnitude, the 10,000 strong crowd bobbing in unison to an overwhelmingly strong opening of 'Holiday' and 'Radio Ladio'.
Despite the cloud-based artwork of their most recent release dominating the stage, material refreshingly spans across the discography throughout the biggest headline set of the group's career, with energetic cuts from Nights Out sitting comfortably alongside the more intricate, emotionally grounded material from The English Riviera and Love Letters.
The title track from the latter release is suitably euphoric and sits as a testament to their strength as a pop outfit, embracing throwback melodies and unbelievable bouts of energy, each member beaming on stage throughout. Moments of high intensity with the likes of 'A Thing For Me' and 'Corrine' are delightfully pacified with the passionate minimalism of 'The Upsetter' and 'I'm Aqaurius'' signature "shoop shoops" and "aaahs", giving the set a constantly interesting resonance that plays to the band's multitude of strengths from across their career.
The night's most magnificent moments though lie in the utilisation of that many disco balls that hang from the Palace's roof, with the whole room becoming enveloped in disco euphoria at a moment's notice through tracks like 'Reservoir' and 'Month of Sundays', a move that in conjunction with the band's stagewear gives the night the feel of an American prom (or more specifically the 'Enchantment Under The Sea Dance' from Back to the Future).
Earth angel's and corsages aside though, the encore once again fully displays how far this band have come over the last decade, growing into not one of the finest alternative pop groups Britain has to offer, but the most inventive, unafraid to push the boundaries of what a band of their confines should do within a live show.
Needless to say, Metronomy's love letter to our nation's capital was well received.
