Alphabeat, Leeds Met University

It’s been quite a year for Alphabeat. They’ve been handled extremely well PR wise, going from relative obscurity (known only to the most ardent Scandinavian pop fan, a similar level to Bodies Without Organs) to the pop band that it’s ok for indie and rock kids to like. Clever campaign or not, the real reason that Alphabeat have shone through this year is their ability to construct damn near perfect pop songs. ‘This Is Alphabeat’ is full of them. This is the final date on the tour of the most important year of their lives. The stage is set for a triumphant send off.

Das Pop certainly start the ball rolling with a performance that leaves Alphabeat with a lot to live up to. Performing to a sizeable crowd, their set is exactly what you would want from a support band: they engage with the audience extremely well, at times making it feel as if this was their show such was the enthusiasm with which the crowd received their songs. Fortunately, they have the songs to back up their ability to win a crowd over and sustain an interest within them after this show. ‘I Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love’ in particular was a storming closer with the crowd pandering to singer Bent’s demands to sing along. Their debut, produced by the Dewaele brothers (the Belgians must stick together) should, on the basis of the songs played tonight, be a triumph. On this performance, Alphabeat will have a lot to live up to. At the end of a long tour and a long year, will they have enough energy to pull it out of the bag?

The answer is: almost. The crowd certainly enjoy themselves and sing along to every song at the top of their voices. The new songs that are played tonight show promise, moving from the more openly pop direction to something sleeker and funkier, more in line with ‘Touch Me Touching You’ which can only be a good thing as not only is it a highlight on the album but the extended version played tonight is the best song of the set. Indeed, the reaction from the crowd to that song is so vigorous that come the encore (we all know what song) their energy levels can’t quite sustain a mad dance along. That or the continual exposure of ‘Fascination’ (the band themselves have gone on record saying they’re sick of it) has led to not quite a backlash but certainly wouldn’t evoke the pure joy it did 6 months ago. As it is, Alphabeat look tired. They do their best to give it everything they have, one final push but especially when compared to Das Pop who are by relative standards just starting out: they don’t display the hunger or the desire they did. The crowd leave happy, the band will have left relieved and while not short changed, you can sense that the band need a break before they’re ready to fully love the songs they’ve played to death once again.