For Good Neighbours, every part began after they discovered their rhythm on social media. The venture of songwriters Oli Fox and Scott Verill – who’ve beforehand launched spritely indie-pop below varied monikers – has maintained momentum on TikTok this 12 months, through a prolonged roll-out of demos and behind-the-scenes footage. It’s a savvy, if barely fatiguing tactic: the duo teased debut single ‘House’ in dozens of movies, tagging every clip with common statements like ‘POV: you’ve discovered your roadtrip soundtrack’ or encouraging listeners to bask in a important character second.
It’s maybe no shock then that the loudest viewers ovation is reserved for when Fox makes point out of the platform tonight (April 24). “A few of it’s possible you’ll know us from TikTok,” he says knowingly. “And we took a bit of time to launch an precise track.” The band are self-confessed tremendous followers of Bleachers, and their blueprint is evident: large, washed-out, atmospheric tunes with lyrics about life-changing friendships that might discover a place in Spotify’s Gen Z-targeted Lorem playlist.
Credit score: Tanta Matton
This seamlessness just isn’t misplaced on stage. When performed reside, ‘House’, current single ‘Maintain It Up’ and a handful of unreleased tracks slide and swirl right into a vivid, easy-going pop haze. Past giving the previous some further gusto, replete with a multicoloured gentle show, there’s little to distinguish a few of the newer materials: Fox’s delivers ‘Ripple’ with a high-pitched cadence, often straining to be heard atop a three-piece backing band.
With a silver chain flippantly bouncing atop his graphic t-shirt as he wiggles round, Fox is an affable performer – and it could maybe be churlish to place Good Neighbours down for the cheerfully uncomplicated temper that their melodies encourage. The power within the room may be very a lot ‘good instances, on a regular basis’, with music that you may name heat and acquainted, buoyed by some big-chorus magic (a Grouplove redux, even).
Fox and Verill’s imaginative and prescient interprets finest throughout a extra freewheeling ‘Daisies’, throughout which they rip into guitar solos and leap about joyously. It sparks the query: with just a little extra grit and wonkiness, might Good Neighbours, like their friends Royel Otis, make the leap to competition levels? Having efficiently made an impression in an oversaturated on-line area, there’s sufficient right here to counsel that they’ll quickly take the subsequent step.
