Future Of The Left - Tramlines 2012 review

'One of the most impassioned sets of the festival'

Chris Swindells - 22 July 2012

There's no rock star luxuries for Future Of The Left. As the full band go on for their own sound check, Andy Falkous sends word to the sounddesk: "Start the tape in eight, you know what I'm fucking talking about."

Once 'My Crocodile Shoes' has played out the four piece can start, 'Arming Eritrea', of all places.

With 'Small Bones, Small Bodies' and 'adeadenemyalwayssmellsgood' the opening quarter harks back to their 2007 debut 'Curses'. 'Beneath The Waves An Ocean' then sorts that out. Their third album 'The Plot Against Common Sense' has been out less than a month, but a large section of the crowd join in for it's repetitive lyrical exclamation: "you'll never find peace with the name they gave you".

'Sheena is a T-Shirt Salesman' is as ferocious as the recorded version, blistic screams and rapturous bass rhythm sends the crowd into a frenzy. The site, directly in front of  the Sheffield City Hall, breaks into a moshpit.

Falkous is in the usual playful spirit, directing his attention to the front row: "You don't love me, you love the idea of me."

'Failed Olympic Bid' and 'I Am The Least Of Your Problems' show a band still riding in fifth gear, happy to experiment with the formula.

It still takes a rare Mclusky cover, 'To Hell With Good Intentions', to turn this into a wild party.

'Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues' then follows and is a game-changer, as bodies rush to the pit and fall, bruised and battered to the stone-slabbed ground.

If growing to a four piece allowed a look backwards, it also opens up the likes of 'Lapsed Catholics' for the first time. The set closer is heart-stopping rock 'n' roll, a thrill ride from the get-go to the let-go. The song climaxes with all four, plus a fifth hired hand, on stage to do battle with their instruments and salute the rock hardy of Sheffield who came out to witness one of the most impassioned sets of the festival thus far.

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