Northern trio Cassia brought their sunshine-tinged indie-pop to Rescue Rooms, brightening up a chilly autumnal night and delighting fans with their down-to-earth attitude.
Fresh from a huge European tour, Cassia are already nearing the end of their biggest UK tour to date, which has seen eight out of twelve shows sold out so far. Last night, they returned to Rescue Rooms, with support from Deco and Alfie Neale.
First up was 80s inspired indie-pop band, Deco. Being the first support band and playing at the prompt time of 7:00pm, I can imagine it wasn’t the easiest task to fully capture the audience’s attention and get them going. However, with an energy perfectly matching his exuberant yellow turtleneck, frontman Max Kendall nailed it. With a set full of anthemic pop melodies paired with soaring guitars and synths, Deco oozed positivity.
Next was singer-songwriter Alfie Neale, who charmed the audience with a genre-hopping set mixing aspects of jazz, funk, soul and lo-fi hip-hop. With his soulful, husky vocals complimenting the smooth saxophone rolling in and out of songs, he created a more subdued vibe.
The calm before the storm ended as Cassia took to the smoke-filled stage, opening with the infectiously optimistic Loosen Up, encouraging the now bustling crowd to do just that. They then launched enthusiastically into the likes of cheery anthem Sink, guitar-filled Guidance, and nostalgically summery Under the Sun. Small Spaces seamlessly followed an exhilarating bongo drum jam between the trio; Cassia always spice it up a bit when it comes to their live shows, keeping things fresh and exciting.
'The calm before the storm ended as Cassia took to the smoke-filled stage, opening with the infectiously optimistic Loosen Up, encouraging the now bustling crowd to do just that'.
With debut album Replica now firmly under their belt, I could tell that Cassia have turned things up a notch since I last saw them. With a packed set list of polished hits, paired with the most impressive light show I have ever witnessed in Rescue Rooms, the audience were hooked and couldn’t help but bop along to the Vampire Weekend-esque guitar riffs and afro-beat inspired drumming which make up the positive, reggae-inspired indie tunes these natural performers provide.
Concluding with fan-favourites 100 Times Over and Out Of Her Mind, it was hard not to have a smile on your face as members of the audience clambered up onto shoulders, gleefully singing along to the euphoric choruses. With a large range of ages represented by the audience members, it was easy to see that Cassia’s jubilant music doesn’t discriminate.
'With a packed set list of polished hits, paired with the most impressive light show I have ever witnessed in Rescue Rooms, the audience were hooked'.
After the gig, Cassia demonstrated their humble personalities by coming out into the crowd and manning their own merch stand in order to meet and chat with fans; they’re a prime example of great home-grown, independent talent who are certainly heading for big things.
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