Written and Edited by Millie Cain

Surrounded by bald heads and beards, leather jackets and dyed red hair, with my 17-year-old sister in tow (who is far cooler than me), we arrived at the hive of excited chattering that was 02 Academy on 13^th February. Perhaps it was the adrenaline of pancake day fuelling the crowd, but the atmosphere was blinding from the first moment.

Dressed in all black, grinning, The Mysterines took the stage. Lia Metcalfe’s sultry voice captivated the whole room, with an effortlessly cool attitude as they broke out into opening track, an unreleased fan favourite ‘The Last Dance’. There was a real feel of a hive mind within the band, they seemed to move in a haze around each other as if they had their own gravitational field.

Their short support set left a poignant mark on the rest of the night, the alternative Wirral-based 4-piece packed a punch, with a mixture of tracks from their previous discography and upcoming album ‘Afraid Of Tomorrows’ which is out June 7^th. The band released a total of 7 songs across two EPs on their own Pretty Face Recordings label before signing to Fiction Records in March 2021 and releasing their debut album ‘Reeling’, the following year.

During standout track ‘Stray’, Lia held the crowd in the palm of her hand, holding an impenetrable gravitas under the smoky red stage light, she faced the crowd arm outstretched and let us be consumed by the sounds of the lead single of their upcoming album. ‘Stray’ was written after The Mysterines “re-indulged” in the music that shaped their childhood and was inspired by 2022 film Meet Me In The Bathroom, which explored the New York scene of the ‘90s and ‘00s through bands like The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem and Interpol.

“It’s almost feels like it would have made more sense if our albums were released the other way round,” Metcalfe told NME, with ‘Reeling’ focussing more on massive hooks and big singalongs while ‘Afraid Of Tomorrows’ sees the band leaning more on their psych, grunge and alternative influences. This album follows their UK tour supporting Arctic Monkeys, “That was the most surreal experience ever,” Metcalfe admitted. “It still feels like a fever dream we all had. They really looked after us and it was really inspiring to see a band from the North of England in their position. As huge and respected as they are, they’re so grounded and humble.”

“Because they were so relaxed and had so much fun with every show, that loosened us up,” Metcalfe added. “It allowed me to enjoy how mad it was that I was playing stadiums with my mates. It was also a good reminder that nothing has to be super serious all the time.”

With the honesty that comes with their music, there comes a shining light on sexism in the alternative music industry. Female songwriters are constantly having their songwriting credentials questioned, something the rest of her male bandmates are not victim to. Even after being invited to contribute lyrics to Paul Weller’s album, and a number 1 single, Lia still attests to the scrutiny she receives on such a higher level than the men in her genre.

To this crowd though, they had nothing to prove. A truly exciting, mesmerising performance which built an incredible ambiance with final track heavy rock hitter ‘Hung Up’ before Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes dived onto stage.

The fiery orange stage light opened the soft piano, a single poetic spotlight, he needed no introduction, the instantly recognisable Frank Carter stretched out, and the Rattlesnakes lit up behind him.

In a sharp suit, he dressed up for the occasion, slicked back Bond villain hair and launched into incredible vocals for the opening ballad ‘Can I Take You Home’ for Act I ‘Cloudy & Pink’ of their show, which contained 3 songs from their new album ‘Dark Rainbow’. Without pausing, the lead singer and guitarists alike were climbing the speakers, leaning so close to the crowd they nearly touched their noses as they launched into heavier track ‘Brambles’. The crowd of the 02 reached out to try to grasp the dark silhouettes on a red stage as they introduced themselves, with so much energy I thought Carter might take flight. “Who’s ready to dance Leeds? Because I fucking am!”

His point was proven – it wasn’t long before the suit jacket was off, pristine white shirt untucked, Carter was shaking his hair out, head banging along to the music. The whole band shared this intrepid current of excitement that bled through their music as they broke into Act II – ‘Like Lightning’.

A heavier, punkier part of the set that buzzed of feverish clapping, bouncing and general thrashing around to iconically beloved fan favourites such as ‘Devil Inside Me’ and ‘My Town’. They lit the stage with blue lights, even had heavy rain sounds preluding their tracks, the crowd was filled with whispers of people trying to predict upcoming songs, and wondering how big the mosh pit would spread.

The answer is huge. The fans were possessed, it felt like everyone in the room knew every word, Frank Carter was preaching to his own choir, and genuinely at times the crowd nearly drowned out the band themselves. Not that they seemed to mind – Carter gleefully twirled around his mic stand and pointed his mic out to the crowd to hear them singing back to him. For ‘Crowbar’ he crouched low, arms and legs in the air, throwing his body around the stage like a doll.

As the tempo increased for ‘Cupid’s Arrow’ his smile was so wide it could’ve split his face in half. The band themselves were so tight, ridiculously clean, for all their years of performing it really shows how polished a band of their experience should be.

For ‘Wild Flowers’ they announced, “this song is for some very special people tonight, this mosh pit is ladies only, if you want a mosh in a safe environment” and Carter couldn’t be more correct when he cried out that “You’ve never seen a happier mosh pit in your whole life!”.

By now we belong to the band, the cheeky and charming (without being cocky) Carter and effortlessly talented Rattlesnakes. It was a true shared -and sweaty- experience, watching trainers and doc martens float above heads as crowd surfers dived over and over into the air.

The band leeched off this energy, Carter himself dived in before screaming “this song is about how i kissed your boyfriend” and seemed to teleport straight back up on stage for the opening of ‘Honey’. Which was quickly flipped into ‘Parasite’ about your boyfriend, “who thinks he’s a comedian” , a furious number with big drops and an angry back and forth.

The band swung smoothly from these booming punk anthems into soul-crushing ballads, letting the crowd rise and dive with them every step of the way. There was a feeling of familiarity, I don’t doubt many people in the room had probably seen them over and over, but for me, on my first encounter with them, they drew me in as if I always had.   

“Leeds you’re beautiful as always, thank you so much for having us play” they constantly reached out, chatting away, letting the crowd chant back, listening to their people just as much. Carter crooned, threw himself into the passes, his vocals were immense, and he had some truly poignant moments to himself, but never hesitated to let his bandmates shine with him.