Featured image: Gracie Hall

On an unusually sunny October day, Vincent’s Last Summer cram into Oxford Road’s Revolution for Neighbourhood Festival 2024. The Manchester post-punk duo are energetic and theatrical, stating that they “woke up in 2008 and never left again”, which explains the band’s indie-sleeze aesthetic and style. Despite being toddlers in 2008, the nostalgia for a time they never got to experience clearly resonates with many of today’s younger generation, as seen in the rise and resurgences of artists such as The Dare and Sky Ferreira, respectively.

Fred Roberts follows with a legion of fans standing up front, singing every word at his Manchester debut. A mixture of fun indie-pop (‘Runaway’) and more sombre deep cuts (‘Naïve’), Fred writes quintessential love songs through a queer lens and is part of a wave of up-and-coming, unapologetic queer artists.

Catching the tail-end of Nectar Woode at the Deaf Institute is an unexpected treat. Velvety jazz vocals serenade the crowd as she sings, scats and even harmonises with the crowd. It’s just her voice and her guitar and that’s all she needs. Her songs sound just as smooth as her name suggests.

Alessi Rose packs the Deaf Institute to an unprecedented capacity, despite a late start due to technical issues. Packed like sardines, the whole room waits in anticipation to catch the budding starlet, eventually entering the room to an eruption of screams. Rose has seen a rapidly astronomical rise, akin to fellow Neighbourhood artist Nieve Ella’s rise and with this trajectory, seeing Alessi at the Deaf Institute may soon be something to brag about. It’s a set of anthemic indie-pop chronicling relationships, break ups and crushes and ending on breakthrough, ‘Crush!’, with Rose pointing the microphone to fans who scream the final bridge, she’s clearly the people’s next pop princess.

British-Chinese sibling duo Esme Emerson take to the YES Basement, with an on-stage synergy unique to a familial creative partnership. Their closeness bleeds into their songs with the production and instrumentals, usually Emersons side of things, meshing with Esme’s vocals and lyrics. It’s fun and light-hearted, with a supporting band filling out their live sound. Their recorded music is soft, so slightly ‘rockified’ live versions translate well and show their versatility, with the vulnerable ‘Please’ showcasing Esme’s vocals and new single ‘Yard’ going down well with the crowd. 

Soft Launch are a five-piece that creatively blend multiple instruments and genres through each member’s multi-instrumentalist talents, forging a unique baroque-pop sound which stands out against the oversaturation of indie-rock ‘lad’ bands. With rotating stage spots, members impressively take different leads and instruments on songs and even with this much variability, there’s something authentically ‘Soft Launch’ running through the whole set. Lyrics aren’t always rooted in reality, giving a Beatles-esque psychedelic-induced feel, and are wrapped up in funky beats and instrumental solos. Keyboardist Henry also proves that thrashing and rocking isn’t just reserved for guitarists. 

Manchester-formed Pale Waves headline this year’s Neighbourhood, using the festival as the Manchester date of their current tour. Pale Waves performed at the first iteration of Neighbourhood in 2016 at a small venue, setting up their own equipment to a modest crowd. Eight years later, headlining the festival at the Academy, shows how far they’ve come.

The stage set-up is also ornate, boasting chandeliers and a statue. Newly-released album (Smitten) tracks are sprinkled in between “Pale Waves classics”, as Heather introduces tracks such as ‘Change’, ‘Eighteen’ and ‘Easy’ to the crowd’s delight. Just a few songs in, Heather declares Manchester to be “the best crowd of the tour yet”, and shares how the band always love coming home to perform shows.

Having now performed at practically every venue in the city, Pale Waves are a Manchester gem and clearly love this city. Ending the set with an encore of ‘Glasgow’ off the new record and another classic, ‘Jealousy’, Pale Waves are sure to reminisce on this special hometown show for years to come.