Mouth Culture - Live Review

I had seen Mouth Culture in this room before, last year supporting Hot Milk, so the line about it being good to be back in Oxford rang true even if this was their first time headlining here. That felt like the difference on the night. Last year they were trying to win people over. This time they walked on stage at the O2 Academy Oxford like they already knew they could hold the room, and from the start there was very little doubt about it.

They opened with On and On and Dead In Love, which was enough to get the floor moving early, but what stuck with me more was how settled they looked. Jack Voss did all the talking, keeping the set loose without letting it drift, and very early on he asked for an old school indie mosh pit. He also mentioned Brighton going for it the night before, which felt like a little challenge to Oxford to not let the side down. By the fourth song he was telling the crowd, "You did very well Oxford", and it did feel like one of those sets where band and audience had worked each other out pretty quickly.

That confidence carried the whole show. Five songs in, with his shirt already off, Voss looked like someone completely at ease in the headline spot. He kept coming back to the different phases of the night, with phase 3 being the big high energy peak and phase 1 being where they had started, and it sounds slightly daft written down but in the room it worked. It gave the set a shape without turning it into a script. They also admitted they were five nights into the tour and feeling it a bit, though if they were tired it never really showed in the performance.

What helped was that the set moved well between the bigger, louder moments and the songs that pulled things in a touch. Picking Wings Off a Butterfly gave them a chance to ease the pace without losing people, then Sharkbait and Ratbag brought the push back. Ratbag in particular got one of the biggest reactions, with Voss making a point of saying Oxford had done better on that one than Brighton. Later on, when he asked if people had their singing voices, it was clear enough that they did. By the time they closed with Don't Pull Up, the room had that hot fuzzy end of the evening feel.

More than anything, it felt like a band stepping properly into this level. Not in some grand career sense, just in the simple way they handled the room, kept the pace up and knew when to lean on the crowd. As people filed out, there was that tired, pleased feeling you get after a set that has been loud enough, tight enough and just the right side of messy. For a first Oxford headline show, it felt well judged.

Support came from Overgrown, on their first ever tour, and they already seem to be growing into these rooms quickly. A band who have had a very busy year and look to continue going forward, I can't wait to see where they go next.

As well as Fawlers, getting a shout from Mouth Culture as "your local talent", being chosen as a local band to open the evening is great to see bands looking out for each other.