Culture, Manchester, Music

Live Review: Touché Amoré @ Manchester Academy 2

0 218

Words and photography by Georgina Hurdsfield


With this year marking the ten-year anniversary of Touché Amoré’s arguably most-loved album, ‘To the Beat of a Dead Horse‘, it would only be right for the California-based post-hardcore band to embark on a month long tour across two continents to celebrate.

Manchester welcomed Touché Amoré and close friends, Deafheaven, with open arms for a night to remember at Academy 2. Kicking off proceedings was Portrayal of Guilt, who have carved their names into the new era of screamo over the past two years. After recently releasing a split EP last month with post-punk band, Soft Kill, we were very much looking forward to what they had to offer in terms of their live show.

Whilst blending genres of hardcore, post-hardcore and punk, what stood out in their live performance the most was their musicianship and how they merged all these different sounds together on stage. Matt King’s vocals were deafeningly loud however, the crowd seemed to enjoy what they heard as when we looked around the room, everyone was banging their head in sync with the music, taking it all in. Due to the uncertainty of what order Touché Amoré or Deafheaven would be playing, fans from all sorts of music backgrounds turned up early to fill the room and were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of an impressive support act. Portrayal of Guilt definitely gained some new fans that night.

Next came Deafheaven, who were greeted with a simple loud round of applause which all seemed a bit too formal considering the tone of the performance we were about to bare witness to. George Clarke’s vocals conducted the performance of the band as well as the audience subtly. The contrast of Clarke’s performance being delicate yet belligerent on stage was something we had failed to have seen before.

Half of their set-list featured songs from their 2018 album, ‘Ordinary Corrupt Human Love‘, which all captured the attention of those hardcore Deafheaven fans in the front row, but it was Dream House from the album ‘Sunbather‘ which was released in 2013 that won over everyone in the crowd. The mass of people in the room showed nothing more than adoration for the band as they closed with this black metal (with hints of shoegaze) track.

With all the energy in a performance a member of a live show could hope for, Deafheaven played a set we would never forget, which is exactly what anyone would expect from a band which is spoken of with such high calibre.

Taking the headline slot for Manchester’s date of the co-headline tour, Touché Amoré gave the fans exactly what they wanted by playing ‘To the Beat of a Dead Horse‘ front to back. The set list not only featured songs from this album, but took the crowd through a journey that illustrated Touché Amoré’s longevity as a band. ‘Flowers and You’ in particular pulled on the crowd’s heartstrings from their 2016 album ‘Stage Four‘ in which the songs were inspired by the passing of Jeremy Bolm’s mother due to cancer.

Touché Amoré are honest, empathetic, loving and hopeful with their lyrics and the fans in the crowd soak it all up from start to finish. Although the tone of the songs could definitely be described as emo, this doesn’t stop the energy in the room as crowd-surfers and mosh pits set the revitalised vibe. Most-recent song, Deflector, proves to be well-loved by the whole room and shows that Touché Amoré are better than ever and have well and truly been welcomed back by UK fans.

Ending the set with ‘~’, the opening track to 2011 album, ‘Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me’, was a nostalgic way to end the set as the crowd sang along ‘I’ll be the ringing in your ears, that will stick around for years’. We certainly know that this show will leave a noise in our ears, reminding us that next time we want to attend a Touché Amoré show, we should bring earplugs, because rumors are true, they are extremely loud.

This gig has shown hope for all post-hardcore/punk bands and we are looking forward to what Touché Amoré release next.

About the author / 

Georgina Hurdsfield

Masters student in Psychological Wellbeing in Clinical Practice at Manchester Metropolitan University. Keen photographer and music enthusiast.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More News Stories:

  • South Arcade @ Deaf Institute review – frenzied rock show from exciting up-and-comers

    South Arcade kick off their set, amping up the energy with ‘Silverlight’, showcasing lead singer Harmony Cavelle’s vocals. Like Avril Lavigne crossed with Christine Aguilera, Cavelle has a confident stage presence and the vocal power to back it up, fronting the Oxford-based band with Cody Leigh on drums, Harry Winks on guitar and Ollie Green on bass. 

  • Skindred @ Manchester Academy review – Ragga metal superstars unleash pandemonium

    Skindred have established themselves as icons in the UK metal scene, with appearances at Slam Dunk and Bloodstock festivals under their belt. Their notoriety has recently extended toward younger generations around the world through TikTok and tonight, they make their return to Manchester to awaken something feral in the horde.

  • DIIV @ New Century Hall – an intoxicating flawless performance

    Featured image and gallery: Georgina Hurdsfield The crowd plunges into darkness as bdrmm take to the stage of a packed out New Century Hall. Opening with tracks from latest album I Don’t Know, ‘It’s Just A Bit Of Blood’ showcases Ryan Smith’s haunting vocals as their ethereal guitar sounds kicks in. Meanwhile ‘Be Careful’ highlights…

  • Yard Act @ O2 Apollo review – a beautiful, sweaty, hot mess

    Hoards of fans and punters alike cram themselves wall to wall in the hope of getting an unobscured view of Yard Act’s James Smith. The Manchester born frontman is frantically scrambling at the many dials atop a mixing desk under the watchful eye of bandmate Jay Russell. The crowd continues to grow until faces begin to peer in from the windows at the back of the room, eager to be involved in the chaos inside. It’s a beautiful, sweaty, hot mess in celebration of Yard Act’s all day residency across the city. The plot twist; this is only the afterparty.