Set of the night
Mirror Kicks were up first on a night that was gearing up to be a mix of grunge/alternative rock.
Not entirely fitting that bill they were nonetheless a great choice to open getting the crowd up and engaged and ultimately turning out to be the band of the night.
Mirror Kicks are one of those bands that will invariably be compared with Muse as they are skilled at producing a spacey, etherial sound that they blend with heavy hitting, pure rock. While understandable the comparisons are not justified, Mirror Kicks has their own very distinct sound, driven by frontman Anil Kamalagharan's unique voice.
Clearly growing as a band into an even more ethereal sound they only played one song from their first album which flies much closer to a mainstream rock beat. Their newer music and subsequently most of the set sent spacey strands of sound flying around 229 while being anchored by the presence, energy and beats coming from the stage.
You'd never have guessed that the bulk of the set was made up of new songs, some being played live for the first time, as things flowed perfectly from start to end.
Closing the set with what can only be described as an epic song that commanded the attention of everyone in the room, they filled the venue with soaring vocals and a massive sound providing an ending that resulted in a tangible feeling of joy through the crowd and left everyone buzzing about how exciting Mirror Kicks are.