Photo: Emma Viola Lilja
Childhood frontman Ben Romans Hopcroft has big hair and an even bigger voice - switching from angel-like falsettos to raw growls against bouncy, sun-drenched instrumentals. The four-piece produce dreamy, jangly lo-fi guitar pop to dance about. The result? A world of woozy reverb and distorted feedback not accessible outside a world of narcotics.
Finding fans in Johnny Marr and Interpol, their sugar-coated psych-tinged pop has nods towards the effortless ambiance of The Stone Roses and the breathy reverb vocals of shoegaze, yet Childhood manage to mix a nostalgic sound with modernity to create a sound that is refreshingly new.
Despite minor technical difficulties, Childhood’s set is met with audience shouts of delighted encouragement throughout. The infectious chorus of ‘As I Am’ is seemingly tailor-made for summer festival sing-alongs, but the crowd still do a pretty decent job - a dedicated mass of followers cramming near the front of the stage, bouncing on their toes and singing back each one of Romans Hopcroft’s words.
The slow start to ‘Falls Away’ builds to an impressive climax amidst danceable funk vibes whereas ‘Solemn Skies’ is a feel good tune with ambient harmonies and echoing vocals that turns into a 90-second instrumental breakdown come the end, the band rocking out in a frenzy of screeching guitars. The show goes out to ‘When you Rise’, a whirling kaleidoscope of rumbling bass lines, mesmerizing vocals and a dancing audience, cementing their performance as solid from start to finish.
Throughout, Childhood attack their set with a ferocious enthusiasm and confidence, and that, along with such an infectious sound, means tonight can safely be described as a triumph for a band set for big things.
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