Metronomy at The Olympia Theatre – Review & Photos

Kicking off the first show of Metronomy’s European tour was Dublin’s own ‘I Am The Cosmos’. Ross Turner’s and Cian Murphy’s smooth melancholic synth pop has an oldschool 80’s vibe which the sold out audience at the Olympia loved. Their mysterious and haunting music echoed through the theatre’s galleries and was a good eleventh hour add to the line up having only been announced to open the show a short time ago.

Having only released their album ‘Love Letters’ two days previously, Meronomy hit the stage. They were dressed in matching outfits with a 70’s ‘Partridge Family’ vibe that complimented their psychedelic dream-like cloud set. When you look at Metronomy playing live, they really do look like they are in one of their music videos. With minimal, repetitive movements they seemed in a trance playing their music. As the set list progressed it became apparent that the originally white fittings of the stage were actually light fixtures. As the show went on the progressively more impressive light effects wowed the audience and transformed the stage. The visual effects were a real highlight for me and accompanied the music brilliantly.

Playing a good mix of their older music and their newest album (I was a bit disappointed they left out one of their biggest singles ”A Thing For Me”), when front man Joseph Mount announced the next song was going to be ‘The Bay’ the crowd went wild. The euphoric synth and hugely talented bassist Olugbenga Adelekan’s infections playing made the performance my favorite of the show by far.

With minimal interaction with the crowd during the gig, Metronomy really let the music do the talking. Vocals from Prior and Mount were sterling, but at times I felt the music was drowning out their voices, especially Prior. With many shows and lots of festivals coming up this summer, it was great to see them on the Opening night of their European tour before the fatigue of playing a gig every night and autopilot set in for them.

Review by Ruth McGovern

Photos by Laur Ryan